THE GREAT GENERATION OF KAZAKHSTAN: INSIGHT INTO …hdr.undp.org/sites/default/files/kazakhstan_2005_en.pdfPopulation ageing is a relatively new phenomenon for Kazakhstan. According

THE GREAT GENERATION OF KAZAKHSTAN:

INSIGHT INTO THE FUTURE

ALMATY – 2005

The United Nations Development Programme with participation of the United Nations Population Fund

commissioned a group of authors to prepare the National Human Development Report for 2005

UNDP is the UN’s global development network, advocating for change and connecting countries to

knowledge, experience and resources to help people build a better life. We are on the ground in 166 coun-

tries, working with them on their own solutions to global and national development challenges. As they

develop local capacity, they draw on the people of UNDP and our wide range of partners.

Report materials could be reproduced in whole or in part, without prior permission of UNDP, provided

proper reference is made to this publication.

The analysis and recommendations expressed in this report do not necessarily represent the views of

UNDP and UNFPA. This Report is an independent publication jointly produced by the groups of Kazakh-

stani experts commissioned by UNDP and supported by UNFPA.

NATIONAL HUMAN DEVELOPMENT REPORT – 2005

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The dynamic market transformation that took place after independence has enabled signifi cant achievements by Kaza-

khstan’s economy and allowed the initiation of large-scale outreach programmes.

Pensions and benefi ts have been raised and so have wages in the Government-funded sector. In healthcare and educa-

tion funding has been improved with a set of measures underway to enable systemic changes. Much focus has been on

rural development and the State Program of Residential Construction.

President Nazarbaev identifi ed sustainably improving quality and standard of living as a priority to be achieved for the

country to become one of the top 50 most competitive countries.

In this regard, the Government is focused on developing mechanisms of targeted social assistance for the poor and

disadvantaged groups of the population and further improving the standards of social security and social services.

This National Human Development Report is a wealthy source of information and can be a good starting point for the

discussion of issues important for human development.

It should be emphasized how topical and useful the UNDP-commissioned research on the role and needs of the older

population is. It is even more important now when Kazakhstan is going through radical social and economic changes

and shaping new priorities for the future.

Finally, I would like to thank UNDP and the authors of the 2005 National Human Development Report for Kazakhstan

for their good work and express confi dence that their future endeavors in Kazakhstan will be a success.

FOREWORD BY MR. DANIAL AKHMETOV PRIME-MINISTER OF THE REPUBLIC OF KAZAKHSTAN


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In recent years the international research community has focused more on human measurements of economic devel-

opment, which is captured in many strategic, programming and analytical documents of international organizations.

Economic development should be translated into more and better choices, potential and capabilities of people. Human

development enables poverty alleviation, democratic development and social and political stability in society, which

along with other issues are topics of the yearly National Human Development Reports published in Kazakhstan since

1995.

This year, the 60th anniversary of the end of the Second World War and the founding of the United Nations, UNDP in

cooperation with UNFPA have prepared the tenth National Human Development Report. The Report analyses popula-

tion ageing in Kazakhstan from the perspective of human development - a topic not suffi ciently studied but crucial for

Kazakhstan’s further development.

National policy in many countries including Kazakhstan needs to incorporate the issue of ageing and appropriate

support mechanisms for older people into the mainstream of social and economic planning. Policies for employment,

health, incomes and social care should take account of the needs of older people. Alongside the government, civil so-

ciety, research and academic institutions, professional organizations, mass media and businesses should be extensively

involved in improving the living standards and status of older people. Such organizations’ involvement in developing

and monitoring targeted programs will facilitate coverage of various spheres of older people’s lives, making national

policies more effective. Bilateral and multilateral donors must also take account of the contributions and needs of older

people as a critical element in poverty reduction.

This Report is based on independent research made by prominent national experts, whose views may not necessarily be

those of the Government of the Republic of Kazakhstan or the United Nations. I wish to use this opportunity to extend

my deep appreciation to all individuals and organizations that contributed to the development of this document.

I believe that this Report will stimulate a wide national dialogue on the role and status of a great generation from the

point of view of human development in Kazakhstan!

FOREWORD BY MRS. YURIKO SHOJI UN RESIDENT COORDINATOR IN THE REPUBLIC OF KAZAKHSTAN


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Over the last decades many countries have faced an increase in the proportion of older people in their total populations,

which is called population ageing. Global ageing is an unprecedented phenomenon in human history and therefore all

situation assessments are based on estimations and projections. However most researchers believe such processes will

have serious implications in many fi elds of life and need to be studied and analyzed, including an analysis from the

perspective of the human development implications.

Population ageing is observed in both the CIS neighbor states and developed European countries. The UN experts

estimate that the proportion of people aged 65+ will grow in the overall populations of such countries as Austria, Swit-

zerland, Germany, Russia, Ukraine, etc.

Population ageing is a relatively new phenomenon for Kazakhstan. According to the 1999 census, 6.7% of Kaza-

khstan’s populations are people aged 65 and more, which indicates that Kazakhstan is at the threshold of ageing. The

fact that Kazakhstan is become a country with a predominant share of older population suggests that policies concern-

ing many issues need to be revised and a common concept of the state policy relating to older people developed.

The authors of the report hope that its content and conclusions will enable a different perspective from which the role

of the great generation in Kazakhstan’s society can be looked at.

Authors’ group

FOREWORD BY THE AUTHORS’ GROUP


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This National Human Development Report was made possible through support, assistance and valuable contributions

from many entities and individuals.

The authors extend their sincere gratitude to Mr. A. Ivanov, Human Development Program Offi cer of the UNDP Re-

gional Bureau for Europe and the CIS, and Mr. N. van Himvegen, Deputy Director of the Netherlands Interdisciplinary

Demographic Institute for their sound comments and valuable recommendations.

Exceptionally useful comments and recommendations were provided by the UN Development Program and the UN

Population Fund. Special thanks for substantial support and assistance should go to Ms. Yuriko Shoji, UNDP Resident

Representative in Kazakhstan, Mr. Gordon Johnson, UNDP Deputy Resident Representative in Kazakhstan, and Ms.

Aida Alzhanova, UNFPA Assistant Representative.

The authors would like to thank Ms. Djoldasbaeva and Mr. Shalakhmetov, deputies of the Mazhilis of the RK Parlia-

ment, Mr. Babakumarov, of the RK Presidential Administration, and Ms. Meshimbaeva, Center for System Research,

for their invaluable contributions.

The authors and the Task Force are sincerely thankful to Mr. Kaliuly, Chairman of the UN Association, for his support

and signifi cant contribution to the promotion and distribution of the Report.

The Report was revised by many governmental agencies such as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Labor

and Social Protection, Ministry of Education & Science, Ministry of Economy & Budget Planning, Ministry of Health,

Agency for Civil Service Affairs, and the Pubic Administration Academy under the President of Kazakhstan.

Thanks are also extended to the RK Statistics Agency, UN Agencies and international organizations for statistical data

and research materials.

A signifi cant contribution to the preparation and revision of the Report’s outline was made by the participants of a

roundtable held in Astana in October 2005. The authors would like to thank all participants for a constructive discus-

sion and recommendations. Special thanks go to the International Institute of Contemporary Politics and NGO Ardager

for comments and suggestions regarding the structure and content of the Report.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS


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FOREWORD BY MR. DANIAL AKHMETOV, PRIME-MINISTER OF THE

REPUBLIC OF KAZAKHSTAN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

FOREWORD BY MRS. YURIKO SHOJI, UN RESIDENT COORDINATOR IN THE

REPUBLIC OF KAZAKHSTAN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

FOREWORD BY THE AUTHORS’ GROUP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

TABLE OF CONTENTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

ACRONYMS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

INTRODUCTION. POPULATION AGEING IN THE WORLD AND IN KAZAKHSTAN . . . . . . . 13

CHAPTER 1. HUMAN DEVELOPMENT IN KAZAKHSTAN AND ITS INDICATORS . . . . . . . . 171.1 Trends in economic development and allocation from the national budget to social

needs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 181.2 Human development indicators for different age groups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 191.3 Population by age groups and their social and demographic status: trends and

prospects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

CHAPTER 2. POVERTY AND INCOME OF OLDER PEOPLE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 252.1 Poverty profi les and factors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 262.2 Regional disparities in poverty in Kazakhstan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 282.3 Poverty in older age . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 282.4 Gender and age dimensions of poverty. Vulnerability of older people. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 302.5 Pension coverage for human development . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

CHAPTER 3. LABOR MARKET, EMPLOYMENT AND OLDER PEOPLE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 373.1 Labor market and gender dimension of employment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 383.2 Employment of older people in Kazakhstan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 403.3 Economically active population and involvement of the retired population in

economic development in the CIS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 403.4 Employment of older people worldwide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 413.5 Informal economy and income in old age . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 413.6 Credit policies: opportunities for the elderly . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 423.7 Migration processes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43

CHAPTER 4. HEALTHY AGEING: HEALTHCARE AND SOCIAL SECURITY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 474.1 Health of older people in Kazakhstan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 484.2 Healthy ageing and its social, economic and environmental dimensions in

Kazakhstan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 504.3 Access to healthcare . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 514.4 Special medical care for older people in Kazakhstan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 524.5 Older people and disability . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 524.6 Integrated medical and social services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55

CHAPTER 5. EDUCATION FOR ALL GENERATIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 595.1 Ageing in the context of education in Kazakhstan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 605.2 Importance of education for older people . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 605.3 Access of older people to education . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 625.4 Education and ageing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 645.5 Education as a factor in building older people’s capacity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65

CHAPTER 6. OLDER PEOPLE IN THE POLITICAL AND SOCIAL LIFE OF THE STATE . . . . 696.1 Age-specifi c indicators of political and social activity of the population . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 706.2 Analysis of programs of political parties from the perspective of older people’s

involvement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 726.3 National and international NGOs and donors from the perspective of older people’s

involvement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 746.4 Governmental agencies from the perspective of older people’s involvement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74

CONCLUSIONS. RECOMMENDATIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77

GLOSSARY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81

ANNEXES. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89Annex 1. Technical notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90Annex 2. Statistical annexes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94Annex 2. United Nations principles for older persons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119

BIBLIOGRAPHY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121

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TABLESTable №1. Share of population aged 65+ in EU countries (%) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14Table 1.1. Proportion of people not surviving to age 60 by sex and age, 2003 (%) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20Table 1.2. Kazakhstan’s Human Development Index, 1990-2004 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20Table 2.1. Income inequality in Kazakhstan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27Table 2.1. Income inequality in Kazakhstan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27Table 2.2. Regions by proportion of poor people . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28Table 2.3. Breakdown of older people in surveyed households by sex and income spent on

consumption, 2003 (%) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28Table 2.4. Ratio of wages and pensions to subsistence minimum, 2000-2004, tenge . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29Table 2.5. Wages of men and women workers, 1999-2003, tenge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31Table 3.1 Main labor market indicators in Kazakhstan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38Table 3.2. Population by economic activity status and age, numbers of people . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39Table 3.4. International migrants by ethnic origin (people) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43Table 3.5. Emigrants and immigrants by age (people) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43Table 3.6. External migration, Kazakhstan, 1999-2004 (people) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44Table 4.1 Mortality rate per 1,000 people by gender and age, 2003 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49Table 4.2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55Table 6.1. Socio-demographic characteristics of electorate of leading political parties,

2004, by age, % of supporters of each party (block, union) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72Table 6. 2. Positioning of social expectations of pensioners in program documents of

political parties of Kazakhstan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73

FIGURESFigure 1.1 Allocation from national budget to social needs, 1991-2004 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18Figure 1.2. Regional HDIs built on incomes spent on consumption . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21Figure 1.3. Age composition of Kazakhstan’s population at year start, 2003-2030 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23Figure 2.1. Real change in GDP, wages and assigned pensions, 1991-2004, % of 1990 . . . . . . . . . . . 26Figure 2.2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27Figure 2.3. Main indicators of poverty status in Kazakhstan, 2001-2005 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30Figure 3.1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38Figure 3.2. Men and women in the Parliament of Kazakhstan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39Figure 3.3. Trends in the share of informal economy in GDP, Kazakhstan, 1990-2004,

% of GDP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41Figure 4.1. Trends in the number of tuberculosis cases in Kazakhstan (as of 31.07.05

versus 2004), %. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49Figure 4.2. Causes of death of population aged 60+, 2004. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50Figure 4.3. Hospitalized patients by age, Kazakhstan, 2002-2004. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51Figure 4.4. Causes of hospital treatment of older patients, 2004 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51Figure 4.5. Primary disability by age . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53Figure 4.6. Percentages of men and women with primary disability, 2004 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53Figure 4.7. Older people diagnosed with primary disability by main cause of disability . . . . . . . . . . 54

INSERTSInsert 1.1. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18Insert 2.1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27Insert 2.2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30Insert 2.3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32Insert 2.4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34Insert 3.1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38Insert 3.2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40Insert 3.3. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42Insert 4.1. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52Insert 5.1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60Insert 5.2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63Insert 6.1. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71Insert 6.2. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75

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Today’s demographic situation in Kazakhstan is charac-

terized by sustained growth in the proportion of older

people in the population, which is part of global popula-

tion ageing. Population ageing - the increase in the pro-

portion of older people - is caused by a decrease in the

total fertility rate and improved life expectancy and has

become a predominant worldwide demographic trend.

The UN estimates suggest that, by 2050, the world will

have around 1.5 billion older people, which is 14.7% of

the total global population.

As an important process seriously affecting the future

development of many countries and entire regions, pop-

ulation ageing is a focal area for international organisa-

tions. The primary international document concerning

ageing is the International Plan of Action on Ageing,

which guides understanding of ageing and the develop-

ment of related policies and programmes. This document

was approved by the UN General Assembly in 1982 and

aims to build capacities of governments and civil socie-

ties to address effectively the challenges posed by ageing

and to consider the development opportunities of older

people. At the Second World Assembly on Ageing held

in April 2002 UN member countries adopted a Political

Declaration and the Madrid International Plan of Action

on Ageing, which went beyond defi ning ageing policies

from a social security perspective and focused on the

need to discuss development policies.

Population ageing is a relatively new phenomenon for

Kazakhstan and, therefore, has not been assessed or ad-

equately addressed in national policy documents and

legislation. At the same time, the proportionately larger

older population is beginning to affect the social and

economic situation in Kazakhstan.

This report is the fi rst in-depth research into the role

and needs of older people from the perspective of human

development in Kazakhstan. It analyzes the country’s

basic social and economic performance indicators and

the increased proportion of older people and its implica-

tions for the economy, healthcare, pension schemes, and

intergenerational relations, including family relations.

The report seeks to analyze the current and future social

and economic status of Kazakhstan from the standpoint

of population ageing and to identify issues related to hu-

man development opportunities.

It also seeks to raise public awareness of the key human

development issues in the context of ageing and give

recommendations for special programmes/interventions

at the national and local levels.

The National Human Development Report consists of

introduction, six chapters and conclusions and reviews

and analyzes such areas as human development and old-

er people; labor market and employment; healthy ageing

and high-quality healthcare, education for all genera-

tions; older people’s participation in political and social

life.

• Human development and older people

Basic human development indicators embrace three

main human development components, which are lon-

gevity, education and living standards. Each of these

components embraces important opportunities. For ex-

ample, longevity means an opportunity to live a long and

healthy life; education means an opportunity to acquire

knowledge and communicate; while living standards im-

ply access to resources required for a decent living and

the ability to be socially mobile and involved in the life

of society. The most recent Global Human Development

Report places Kazakhstan 80th in the HDI ranking based

on domestically-made estimations of life expectancy

(66.2 years), literacy rate (99.5%), enrolment rate (84%)

and GDP (PPP USD7,260). The report provides detailed

analysis of trends in Kazakhstan’s human development

since 1990.

Ageing results from demographic indicators changing

over a long time, changed reproduction and migration.

This process differs between countries, in most of which

it is a result of decreased mortality and increased life ex-

pectancy. What distinguishes population ageing in Ka-

zakhstan is that it results from two factors: decreases in

the fertility rate and a high death rate, especially among

men of working age.

The report provides projections of Kazakhstan’s popu-

lation till 2030 based on estimated annual increases/de-

creases of the population and the age/sex breakdown of

the population at the beginning of 2003. The review of

the projected age composition of the country’s popula-

tion shows a rise in the proportion of the population aged

65+ to 7.8% in 2005, although by 2010-2015 it will drop

to 7.2%. After that the population will be clearly ageing,

which will result in an increase to 11.5% in the propor-

tion of older people by 2030. Such projections justify

the development of social and economic policies taking

into account demographic trends in order to provide for

decent maintenance in old age.

• Labor market, income and employment

At the current stage, Kazakhstan’s economic and social

reforms aim to facilitate social and human development.

Decent old age provision is a priority for a people-cen-

tered state, which Kazakhstan is. The country has always

treated the matter as a priority. The main rationale behind

this is that most retirees have only one income source,

which is their pension benefi t. The pension’s purchasing

power directly affects the welfare, longevity and quality

of life of retired people.

Social policy interventions identifi ed in the State Pover-

ty Reduction Program for 2003-2005 were partly aimed

at raising living standards of older people in Kazakhstan.

The Program targeted a one third reduction in poverty

incidence in 2005 compared with 2002, which was

achieved by 2004. Continued interventions to eradicate

poverty give Kazakhstani people better chances to live

a long and healthy life, access adequate education, par-

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY


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ticipate in social life and have suffi cient income to meet

other socio-cultural needs.

High economic growth rates are having a positive effect

on the employment status of Kazakhstan’s population.

Workers aged 60+ make up 3.5% of all those employed,

or 16% of the total population aged 60+, of which 23.5%

are men and 11.6% women. Globally, proportions of

older workers tend to decrease in the older age groups.

In Kazakhstan this is more evident among women.

Older people tend to be employed more in rural rather

than urban areas. This is attributable to seasonal agricul-

tural work, which is an additional source of income for

rural households and provides additional work for older

people. This situation is also associated with limited em-

ployment opportunities for young people who tend to

migrate to urban areas in search of work. This accounts

for a decline in rural population size and an increase in

the proportion of older workers in rural areas.

In addition to access to basic socio-economic resources

and political freedoms, access to fi nancial services, cred-

it, saving and insurance is one of the most illustrative in-

dicators of human development in society. Kazakhstan’s

socio-economic policies prioritize support to low-in-

come groups through small enterprise development as

one of the most effective approaches and microcredit for

individual entrepreneurs as one of the key components.

Few older people can access microcredit to better their

fi nancial welfare, because individual credit terms are

largely unacceptable for them. By ensuring more fl exible

and softer credit terms for older people, the Government

could increase their chances of achieving better living

standards.

• Healthy ageing and high-quality healthcare

Health and quality of life are the most prominent prob-

lems the older population faces. Morbidity in old age has

some specifi c features such as the diverse and chronic

nature of diseases. The top four diseases of old age are:

1. cardio-vascular diseases

2. cerebrovascular disorders, mainly cerebrovascu-

lar accidents

3. Locomotive disorders

4. malignant tumors

Older people get sick more, which results in more

visits to outpatient facilities: almost twice as many as

other age groups. Despite the fact that disease incidence

rates grow over time, inpatient care for people older than

60 remains the same, which does not appear to fi t real-

ity.

Mortality rates are a major criterion for assessing and

characterizing the health status of the population. Death

is part of the natural life cycle but in society death has

social implications. The crisis of the transition period in-

evitably affected the health status of Kazakhstani people

adversely. From 1995 to the present mortality rates have

been high. As in most countries, Kazakhstani men die

younger than women. Predominant male versus female

mortality rates start in young age groups. For example, at

ages 25-29 the predominance is caused by high mortal-

ity caused by accidents, but at older ages by high male

mortality caused by cardio-vascular diseases. The data

analysis in the report suggests the existence of male

over-mortality in Kazakhstan.

Lack of gerontologic services, high disease incidence,

disability and mortality rates of older people, as well as

legal limitations of social guarantees in old age reinforce

the need to identify and develop strategies to address

ageing-induced problems in Kazakhstan, one of which

is a healthy ageing strategy.

• Education for all generations

The report looks at education as a key factor contributing

to better life quality of older people. Here we should dis-

tinguish between the importance of education acquired

throughout life as a guarantee of decent living in old age

and the importance of education after offi cially becom-

ing a retiree when a) further education is important be-

cause it allows older people to acquire new knowledge

and skills; b) older people’s experience gained through-

out life and professional qualities gained as a result of

life-long learning are used by the educational system,

society and family in order to satisfy common needs. In

any case, education in the context of ageing is more than

bare provision of further education for older people at

their request.

After retiring or choosing to retire, any person aged 65+

is entitled to continue to live an economically active and

socially useful life. However, the fact that older people

are poorly adapted to the market environment and new

social relations limits their capacity to participate in dif-

ferent aspects of social life such as satisfying their per-

sonal spiritual development needs and engaging in new

activities useful for family and society. In this case, older

people face the need to further their education, acquire

new knowledge, competencies and skills regardless of

their existing educational level.

Obviously, older people’s involvement in public life and

labor activities depends on their activity and interest to

respond to new environments by acquiring new skills.

However, it does not only depend on the activity and

fl exibility of older people. Our society traditionally con-

siders the elderly as non-labor resources. This indicates

to what extent older people’s capacity is important for

both individuals and society as a whole. In this context,

it becomes increasingly important that society supports

its older members. As a public life sphere, education has

both formal and informal structural elements that seek

to provide educational services to people of all ages, in-

cluding older people, to the full extent of their learning

abilities and preferences.

• Older people in the political and social life of the state

Whether the political and social activity of the popula-

tion depends on age may be observed in the political and

social culture and political socialization embracing the

following three components:


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• awareness of and interest in politics and public

life;

• confi dence in political and social institutions;

• political and social participation.

In Kazakhstan older people appear to be fairly interested

in politics and public life. They trust political institutions

and participate in political life. However, older people

confi de and participate in civil society less, although

they have skills and knowledge that could be widely em-

ployed in local communities.

There are no specifi c social and political characteristics

that can be attributed to older people, since they vary

depending on the conditions of socialization. In Kaza-

khstan ageing leads to increasing numbers of people so-

cialized in a different period than today’s older people.

As a result, people joining the older age group by 2015

will have different political and social behaviors, i.e.

they will be more socially and economically active but

less involved in political life and less trusting of political

institutions.

There are no special government interventions focused

on the older age group. Interventions related to older

people are either focused on subgroups such as veterans

of the Second World War or disabled older people or re-

tirees as a whole by providing special benefi ts. Interna-

tional and national NGOs, voluntary organisations and

associations practice the same. To a large extent indefi -

nite strategies related to older people are associated with

the varied interests of different stakeholders and a lack

of awareness of the problem in Kazakhstan. Overall, the

relative political and social activity of Kazakhstan’s old-

er population remains largely underutilized.

• Conclusions and recommendations

Population ageing presents new challenges and, at

the same time, provides new opportunities to improve

the lives of some people and establish a new socio-eco-

nomic and cultural environment. Policies providing for

investment in social relations, human resources and the

economy can prevent unnecessary dependency in old age

or as a result of population ageing. Provided effective

investment is made in advance, ageing can be changed

from a resource-depleting factor to one that builds hu-

man, social, economic and environmental capacity.

In this context, based on review and analysis of popula-

tion ageing in Kazakhstan, the fi nal section of the report

offers the following:

• developing state policies and implementation

mechanisms

• creating a legislative framework

• creating infrastructure

• providing information

• institutional development and capacity building

for stakeholders.


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ADB – Asian Development Bank

AIDS – Acquired Immunodefi ciency Syndrome

AOC – apartment owners’ cooperative

APK – Agrarian Party of Kazakhstan

CARK – Central Asian Republics and Kazakhstan

CIS – Commonwealth of Independent States

CPK – Civil Party of Kazakhstan

CPK – Communist Party of Kazakhstan

CPPK – Communist People’s Party of Kazakhstan

DCK – Democratic Choice of Kazakhstan

DPK – Democratic Party of Kazakhstan

EBRD – European Bank for Reconstruction and

Development

EU – European Union

GDI – Gender Development Index

GDP – Gross Domestic Product

GRP – Gross Regional Product

HDI – Human Development Index

HDR – (Global) Human Development Report

HEI – higher education institution

HIV – human immunodefi ciency virus

HPI – Human Poverty Index

ILO – International Labor Organization

IOM – International Organization for Migration

JSC – joint stock company

KCS – knowledge, competencies and skills

LE – life expectancy

MA – Ministry of Agriculture of the Republic of

Kazakhstan

MDG – Millennium Development Goal

MEBP – Ministry of Economy and Budget Planning of

the Republic of Kazakhstan

MEC – Ministry of Education and Science of the

Republic of Kazakhstan

MH – Ministry of Health of the Republic of

Kazakhstan

MLSP – Ministry of Labor and Social Protection of the

Republic of Kazakhstan

MM – mass media

MSS – medical and social services

NGO – non-governmental organization

NHDR – National Human Development Report

PPK – Patriot Party of Kazakhstan

PPP – purchasing power parity of national currency

RK – Republic of Kazakhstan

RKSA – Republic of Kazakhstan Statistics Agency

SWW – Second World War

TFR – total fertility rate

UGS – ungraded school

UN – United Nations

UNDP – United Nations Development Programme

UNFPA – UN Population Fund

UNICEF – UN Children’s Fund

USSR – Union of Soviet Socialist Republics

VS – vocational school

WB – World Bank

WHO – World Health Organization

ACRONYMS


POPULATION AGEING IN THE WORLD AND IN KAZAKHSTAN

INTRODUCTION


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Population ageing is a challenge many countries now

face. Estimates suggest that by 2050 the world’s older

population will outnumber the young, a situation which

some developed and developing countries experienced

back in 1998.

Population ageing, which is the increase in the pro-portion of older people, is caused by a decrease in the total fertility rate and improved life expectancy and has now become the case almost everywhere. Popula-

tion ageing emerged in France in the late 18th century

and then extended over all developed nations. However,

the older population has never been growing so rapidly

and extensively as it is today.

Researchers of population ageing and related issues

take different approaches to defi ning age groups. N. Sa-

chuk cites data of the WHO European Regional Bureau

(1963), which suggests that people aged 60-74 are older

people, those aged 75+ are old people, while people

aged 90+ are considered long-livers. In 1982 the World

Health Organization identifi ed the age of 65 as an indica-

tor of older age, and this is now the indicator recognized

in most states.1

Population ageing impacts various areas such as econom-

ic development, savings, tax use and inter-generational

transfers. The social impact is on the population’s health

status, family composition, lifestyles, housing condition

and migration. Not only is ageing a demographic phe-

nomenon, it can also determine political processes, i.e.

ageing electorate and the issue of representation of inter-

ests of different age groups in political life.

Population ageing is accompanied by greater dependency

of older people on the economically and socially active

population. Poor health, an unstable fi nancial situation

and lower competitiveness on the labor market at pre-

retirement and retirement age are typical characteristics

of the status of most older people in society. Many older

people feel poorly adapted and excluded from today’s

socio-economic environment. Families have been seen

to become less responsible for taking care and meeting

the needs of their elderly.

Trends in population ageing vary between countries, de-

pending on their economic and social development and

existing policies. Analysis of demographic indicators of

many European countries shows a consistent trend to-

wards ageing of the population. In 1997 the percentage

of older persons in Germany was 15%, while by 2020

this is predicted to increase to 22%. In the UK it was

16% in 1997, but is expected to increase to 21% by

2020. In France 15% of the population was older than

65 in 1997, while this proportion is likely to rise to 19%

in 2020. Other western and eastern European countries

may be expected to demonstrate similar trends. In 1997

18% of Sweden’s population was aged 65+, already one

of the highest in Europe, but by 2020 21 per cent2 of the

population will be over 65 years.

1 Breev B.D. About population ageing and depopulation. // SOCIS. - 1998.

- N2. - p. 62-63.

2 World Economy and International Relations, 1999, № 10.

Table №1. Share of population aged 65+ in EU coun-tries (%)

Country 1975 1997 2020 (es-timates)

Austria 15 15 19

Belgium 14 16 18

Great Britain 14 16 21

Germany 14 15 22

Greece 13 16 18

Denmark 13 15 20

Spain 11 16 17

Italy 12 16 19

Luxembourg 14 14 20

Netherlands 11 13 19

Portugal 10 15 16

Finland 11 14 22

France 13 15 19

Sweden 15 18 21

For comparison:USA 10 12 16

Japan 8 15 21

The population of the Asia–Pacifi c region, where over

a half the entire older population lives, has been ageing

rapidly for the last 50 years. The proportion of older peo-

ple grew from 7% in 1950 to 9.4% in 2000 and is esti-

mated to increase to 15.4% in 2025 and 23.5% in 2050.3

It should be noted that population ageing is more rapid

in developing rather than developed countries. Moreo-

ver, developing countries will have less time to handle

the implications of this process. Today the median age

of the world’s population is 26 years. The country with

the youngest population is Yemen, with a median age of

15 years, and the oldest is Japan, with a median age of

41 years. By 2050, the world median age is expected to

have increased by ten years, to 36 years.

The countries of Asia-Pacifi c can be divided into three

groups, by speed of population ageing4:

1. Fast population ageing rate (25% of older people by 2050) - Hong Kong, China, Thailand, Singa-

pore, Sri Lanka, New Zealand, Kazakhstan, Az-

erbaijan, Georgia and Armenia.

2. Medium population ageing rate (between 20 and 25% of older people by 2050) – Mongolia,

Malaysia, Vietnam, India, Turkey, Uzbekistan,

Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan.

3. Slow population ageing rate (20% of older peo-ple by 2050) – Cambodia, Philippines, Pakistan,

Bangladesh, the Laos People’s Democratic Re-

public and Turkmenistan.

Kazakhstan has crossed the threshold of population age-

ing relatively recently. However, this process will be-

3 M.Nizamiddin. Population ageing: policy responses to population ageing

in Asia and the Pacifi c http://www.unescap.org/esid/psis/population/

popseries/apss158/part1_4.pdf

4 World Population Ageing 1950-2050 (United Nations publication) / http://

www.un.org/esa/population/publications/worldageing19502050/index.htm


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come far more rapid very soon. At the beginning of 1999

the proportion of people aged 65 and over was 6.7%,

versus 7.4% at the beginning of 20045. Kazakh experts

project this fi gure to grow to 11.5 by 2030.

As an important process seriously affecting the future

development of many countries and entire regions, pop-

ulation ageing is a focal area for international organisa-

tions. The fi rst international document concerning age-

ing is the International Plan of Action on Ageing, which

guides understanding of ageing and the development of

related policies and programmes. This document was ap-

proved by the UN General Assembly in 1982 and aims to

build capacities of governments and civil societies to ad-

dress effectively the challenges posed by ageing and to

consider the development opportunities of older people.

The International Plan contains 62 recommendations to

conduct scientifi c and applied research, collect and ana-

lyze data, and covers a number of areas such as social se-

curity, income and employment, education, healthcare,

family, housing and environment. The UN Principles to-

wards Older People adopted by the General Assembly in

1991 determine universal standards related to the status

of older people in fi ve key areas: independence, partici-

pation, care needs, self-fulfi llment and dignity.

At the Second World Assembly on Ageing held in April

2002 UN member countries adopted a Political Declara-

tion and Madrid International Plan of Action on Ageing,

which went beyond defi ning ageing policies from a so-

cial security perspective and focused on the need to dis-

cuss development policies. It was recognized that older

people were a powerful yet unused resource in society.

The document also gave recommendations on how to

adjust policies related to the elderly and to build a soci-

ety for people of all ages.

Demographic changes experienced by different coun-

tries, which are caused by population ageing, have a seri-

ous effect on economic development and the structure of

national expenditure. Most European countries already

have a heavy taxation burden, with governments facing

opposition to high taxes. Research shows that European

population ageing may have an adverse economic ef-

fect. Between 2005 and 2035 the able-bodied population

of Italy will decrease by 20% and by a further 15% by

2050. A continued decline in the labor force will result in

a decline in economic development, unless the employ-

ment rate and labor productivity grow proportionately.

The number of people depending on each working per-

son will grow. Between 2005 and 2050 the proportion of

people aged 65 and over will increase to 44% in Italy,

while a 30% decline in the able-bodied population will

result in an increase in the proportion of dependents from

32% of the total population in 2005 to 67% in 2050.6

The potential support ratio – number of people of work-

ing age (between 15 and 64) per each person aged 65+

- will generally decrease twofold, from four to two, ap-

proximately.7 This ratio underlies social security schemes

5 Demographic Yearbook of Kazakhstan. 2004. Almaty, 2005. p.20

6 Population ageing will hamper European economies and their budgets at

www.inosmi.ru

7 Joseph Alfred Greenblat. Immigration scenarios for ageing Europe //

Domestic Notes, №4 2004

and indicates an increasingly high burden on future gen-

erations of the labor force.

The social and economic implications of ageing are a

prominent topic in the research and socio-political com-

munities of the European Union. In the near future, sub-

sequent generations are projected to be fewer in number

than previous generations, while their capacity to pro-

vide their ancestors with life commodities will decline.

Research by B. Felderer, a demographer of Köln Uni-

versity, suggests that Germany will have to increase

signifi cantly pension contributions, which will need to

reach 30% of wages by 2030-2035. By that time health

insurance will need to be 30% more than in the early

1980s. M. Palmer, a British demographer, states that

since population ageing causes an increase in the share

of people with lower income, there will be less demand

for the products of some industries.8

The fi nancial implications of ageing will soon become

evident in Australia, Armenia, China, Georgia, New Zea-

land, Singapore, Russia and some other countries, where

a decline in the proportion of the working age population

will reduce tax revenues. The number of workers is de-

creasing relative to the number of retirees, putting more

fi nancial pressure on governments to ensure adequate

pension schemes. This causes inequality between gen-

erations in terms of division of fi nancial burden.

In addition, population ageing causes an increase in pub-

lic expenditure on healthcare, which, in many countries,

has the following rationale: 1) the older population tend

to be more exposed to sickness and access healthcare

services more; 2) older people tend to spend more on

healthcare than young people; 3) families tend to stop

playing the role of carers of the elderly, meaning that

it is increasingly governments rather than families that

pay for healthcare. For example, in Korea the proportion

of money transferred by children as an income source

for their older parents dropped from 72.4% in 1980 to

56.3% in 1995.

Demographic changes currently occurring cause chang-

es in the relationship between different generations in

families, local communities and societies as a whole. At

the same time, inter-generational relations are critical to

the future development of society. In his message on the

International Day of Older Persons of 1 October 2003

UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan said “Every one of us

can help build bridges between generations by embrac-

ing the skills of older persons, whether in community

or family affairs, agriculture or urban entrepreneurship,

education, technology or the arts, poverty reduction or

peace building. The challenge before us is to bring the

invaluable attributes of older people out of obscurity and

into step with other instruments of development -- in-

cluding the work to achieve the Millennium Develop-

ment Goals, our blueprint for building a better world in

the twenty-fi rst century.”

Human development, including that of older people, is

closely linked to the Millennium Development Goals

(MDGs), which to a large extent determine the devel-

8 Demography as a global headache. Press review//Economic review, №12,

2003 http://www.review.uz/archive/article.asp?y=2003&m=46&id=74


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opment of national social and economic policies. The

MDGs focus on eradicating extreme poverty and hun-

ger, achieving universal primary education, promoting

gender equality and empowering women, reducing child

mortality, improving maternal health, combating HIV &

AIDS, ensuring environmental sustainability and estab-

lishing global partnership for development.

Pursuing MDG targets contributes to more effective hu-

man development. From this perspective, Kazakhstan

has to address such issues as short life expectancy, low

birth rate, poverty reduction, access to and quality of ed-

ucation for all generations, safe drinking water, remov-

ing environmental challenges to health, and protecting

vulnerable groups, including the elderly.

Some countries have attempted to look at improving the

status of older people holistically. In Russia, the Concept

of State Social Policy concerning Elderly People till 2010

was prepared as a follow-up to the Federal Targeted Pro-

gramme “Older Generation”. The Concept highlights the

need to complement current economic and institutional

solutions to support the older population with special

measures. There have been signifi cant allocations from

the national budget to implement this program.

Faster population ageing has become a prominent chal-

lenge for China in the 21st century. Having the largest

older population in the world, China has been proactive

in ensuring adequate living conditions for older people

and reducing ageing-induced pressure on the country’s

social development. In China there are bodies set up

within central government and local authorities of dif-

ferent levels to work with the elderly. China has adopted

a law protecting the rights and interests of older people.

Urban older people can access ageing and medical insur-

ance as well as receive subsistence minimum benefi ts. In

many areas the elderly can access free medical examina-

tions, bus passes and park visits.

European experts suggest two economic tools to ad-

dress the challenges of population ageing. The fi rst is

to increase employment levels among the able-bodied

population. At the Lisbon Summit of 2000 EU leaders

set a target of increasing, by 2010, the overall employ-

ment rate to 70% and the employment rate in the 55-64

age group to 50%. The second tool entails enlarging the

economically active population by raising the retirement

age. However, this tool was largely unsupported, and last

year German policy-makers abstained from increasing

the retirement age to 67 years.

Population ageing takes various forms. In most coun-

tries it is a result of decreased mortality and increased

life expectancy. What distinguishes population age-

ing in Kazakhstan is that it results from two factors: decreases in the fertility rate and a high death rate, especially among men of working age. With disparities

in male and female life expectancies still signifi cant, the

male and female populations continue to be out of bal-

ance, particularly in the older age groups.

Population ageing is a relatively new phenomenon for

Kazakhstan and, therefore, has not been assessed or ad-

equately addressed in national policy documents and

legislation. At the same time, the proportionately larger

older population is beginning to affect the social and

economic situation in Kazakhstan.

Population ageing poses new challenges and, at the same

time, opens new windows to improve the lives of some

people and establish a new socio-economic and cultural

environment. Policies providing for investment in social

relations, human resources and the economy can prevent

unnecessary dependency at later stages of human life

or as a result of population ageing. Provided effective

investment is made in advance, ageing can be changed

from a factor depleting resources to a factor building hu-

man, social, economic and environmental capacity.

Economic and social implications of population ageing

are both a challenge and an opportunity for any society.

Some western experts note that an increase in the share

of older people as such does not automatically affect the

economy in a negative way. This is illustrated by Swe-

den, where the proportion of people aged 65 and older

is the largest in the EU (over 17%) but the economic

implications of ageing do not cause much concern. This

may be explained by the fact that over decades Sweden

was taking action to improve the status of low-income

groups, including retirees, i.e. pursued wealth redistribu-

tion policies. The result is that income differentials are

less profound in Sweden than in other countries.

Kazakhstan is at an early stage of becoming a country

with a predominant proportion of older people. A holis-

tic approach should be taken to address the challenges

posed by population ageing. This, however, will not be

possible without a universal concept of national policies

related to older persons. Such policies should combine

political, legal, economic, healthcare, social, research,

cultural and informational actions aiming to improve the

living standards and quality of life of older people, build-

ing on social solidarity and developing new attitudes to-

wards ageing as part of the life cycle. It is noteworthy

that in addition to the government itself, NGOs, research

institutions, professional organisations, mass media and

businesses can and should be involved in enhancing the

role of older people.


HUMAN DEVELOPMENT IN KAZAKHSTAN AND ITS INDICATORS

CHAPTER 1


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1.1. TRENDS IN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND ALLOCATIONS FROM THE NATIONAL BUDGET TO SOCIAL NEEDS

Although not critical, economic development rates are

important for human development. Over 2000-2004 Ka-

zakhstan’s average annual economic development rate

was 10.4%, which meant that by the end of 2004 Ka-

zakhstan’s GDP was 3.6% greater in real terms than in

1990. 9

Currently, the World Bank classifi es Kazakhstan as a

middle income country, while its economic development rates are on average two times faster than those of other middle income countries. Even without taking account

of PPP, which more than doubles GDP, this reinforces

the President’s message to the people of Kazakhstan of

18 February 2005 saying that “as early as 2010 we will

be able to increase our GDP per capita to US$5,800,

which is the current level of countries such as Czech Re-

public, Hungary, Poland and Malaysia, while by 2015 it

will increase to nearly US$9,000”10.

Rapid economic development accounts for the 2.2 times

increase in budget revenues in 2004 versus 2000, which

equates to an average increase of 21.5% per annum11.

The average annual infl ation rate was 6.9% over the pe-

riod 2001-200412.

9 Economies of the Commonwealth Countries in 2004. Express report. CIS

Statistical Committee. January 2005.

10 President’s Message to the People of Kazakhstan of 18 February 2005

11 Brief Statistical Yearbook of Kazakhstan. Statistical digest / Edited by

K.R.Abdiev. – Almaty, 2005. – 216p. – P.175.

12 Ibid. – P.184.

Greater budget revenues versus infl ation means new challenges can be addressed, such as population ageing, consistent implementation of social support schemes, poverty reduction and sustainable improvment of living standards. At the same time, lower public expenditure

versus GDP over the last 10 years (22-26%) compared

to 1991 (38%) limits allocations to overall social needs

(see Figure 1.1).

Figure 1.1 Allocation from national budget to social needs, 1991-2004

Source: Living Standards and Poverty in Kazakhstan. Statistical monitoring. Joint publication by the RK Statistics Agency and the UN Theme Group on Pov-erty Alleviation, Employment and Social Safety. Almaty. 2005. – 296 p. – P.9.

Of note are the extremely low levels of expenditure on

social security and social assistance in 1995, which was

only 0.8% of GDP. By 1999 this had grown to 7.9%,

in response to a great need for social support. Later,

the much improved economic situation of 2000-2004

allowed a gradual reduction in social expenditure to

4.9%.

From 1995-2001 there was a serious cut in public ex-

penditure on education by 1.4 times, from 4.5% to 3.2%

of GDP. This increased to 3.4% by 2004 but was still

less than the 6-7% of GDP recommended by the Dakar

Conference on Education for All and less than the level

of a number of developed and developing countries, as

well as Eastern Europe and the CIS. Thus in Norway and

Sweden public expenditure on education is over double

that of Kazakhstan, standing at 6.8 and 7.6% of GDP

respectively. The Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland

also spend around 1.5 times more on education than Ka-

zakhstan – 4.4, 5.1 and 5.4% respectively. Also, there is

higher public expenditure on education as a percentage

of GDP in Belarus (6%) and Ukraine (4.2%).

Between 1995 and 1998 Kazakhstan’s expenditure on

health fell from 3.0 to 1.5% of GDP but. by 2004 had

climbed back up to 2.4%, although this is still less than

the level of developed countries and some Eastern Eu-

ropean and CIS states. In particular, such countries as

Germany, Japan, Norway and Sweden spend between

6.2 and 8.1% of their GDP on health, which is 2-3 times

more than in Kazakhstan. In Eastern European countries

as the Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland public ex-

penditure on health is 6.7, 5.1 and 4.4% respectively, all

signifi cantly higher than Kazakhstan. Some CIS states

also spend more on health than Kazakhstan. In 2001

public expenditure on health was 4.8% in Belarus, 3.7%

in Russia and 2.9% in Ukraine.

Overall, Kazakhstan’s education and health expenditure as a percentage of GDP is 1.5-2 times less than 1991 levels, indicating a need to continue increasing public expenditure in these two major areas of human develop-ment. However, this is hindered by the still high share

Insert 1.1.

Economic development around the globe 9

The CIS Statistical Committee reports that as well as in

Kazakhstan, rapid economic development rates have been

observed in Azerbaijan and Armenia at 10.6 and 10.5% re-

spectively. However, GDP per capita in these countries is ap-

proximately two times lower than in Kazakhstan.

In such East European countries as Hungary and the Czech

Republic economic development rates from 2001-2004 were

3.5 and 2.9% respectively, which means that their annual in-

crease was three times lower than that of Kazakhstan. How-

ever, their GDP per capita was US$13-16,000, which is ap-

proximately twice as high as in Kazakhstan.

Russian economic development rates are slightly lower than

the target of 7.2%, which would mean a doubling of its GDP

from 2000-2010. In 2001-2004 the average annual economic

development rate was only 6.8%, which would double GDP

by 2011.

China is a rapidly developing economy whose average annu-

al economic development rate was 7.8% during 1997-2000.

This allowed China to double its GDP in less than one dec-

ade. However, Chinese GDP per capita was PPP US$5,003 in

2003, which is 25% less than in Kazakhstan.

Over the same period the most developed countries, namely

Norway and Sweden, enjoyed economic development rates

of 1.8% and 2% respectively. The economic development

rates of the largest economies, US, Japan and Germany, were

2.5, 1.6 and 0.6% respectively. However, it should be noted

that the GDP per capita of most developed countries stands

at over PPP US$30,000, which is 4-5 times more than in Ka-

zakhstan.


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of the shadow economy in GDP, which stood at 21% in

2004 according to the RK Statistics Agency. It should

also be noted that in 2004 over one third (34.2%13) of

economic entities remained unprofi table, further limit-

ing budget revenues.

The following threats to sustainable human development

in Kazakhstan are worth noting.

Firstly, the nearly fi ve-fold gap between agricultural and

industrial price rises (by 22,200 and 101,200 times re-

spectively) in 2004 versus 1990 results in less agricul-tural versus industrial gross value added. This mostly

affects the economic and social development of agricul-

tural areas. Therefore, a timely intervention would be a

set of measures to developed Kazakhstan’s agricultural

complex as well as production and social infrastructure

in rural areas.

Secondly, the growing extraction-based nature of Ka-zakhstan’s economy should be noted. In 1990 the share

of the oil and gas sector in total GDP was only 0.5%,

but had reached 14.3% by 2003. The oil and gas sector

now accounts for 36% of industrial production, 39% of

construction, 11% of transport and 3.2% of real estate

transactions. This increasing dominance of the oil and

gas sector may threaten the country’s economic security

and hinder sustainable economic development.

1.2. HUMAN DEVELOPMENT INDICATORS FOR DIFFERENT AGE GROUPS

The UN-developed calculation methodology for the hu-

man development index (HDI) and human poverty index

(HPI) does not include disaggregation by age (see Tech-nical Notes). However, individual basic indicators of the

integral indicators only cover specifi c age groups. For

example, the HDI’s enrolment rate is a ratio of all stu-

dents enrolled in education among the population aged

5-24. The same applies to such indicators as “the propor-

tion of young people aged 16 not enrolled in education”

and “unemployment rate” used to calculated HPI for

Kazakhstan. The household survey of living standards

also provides data about age and gender-specifi c poverty

incidence in Kazakhstan.

1.2.1. HUMAN POVERTY INDEX (HPI)

Despite a more than two-fold reduction in income pov-

erty incidence from 1998-2004, Kazakhstan’s human

poverty index has not improved substantially. This can

be attributed to the fact that other basic indicators fall

more slowly than income poverty incidence.

Proportion of people not surviving to age 60. As be-

fore, in 2004 over 30% of Kazakhstan’s population did not survive to age 60 (see table 1.1 in Annex 1). This can

be attributed to low life expectancy at birth, which was

66.2 years in 2004. The proportion of people not surviv-

ing to age 60 has fallen slightly, from 33% in 1998 to

30.3% in 2004.

13 Сводные основные показатели производственно-финансовой

деятельности предприятий (организаций) за 2004 год. – Алматы:

Агентство РК по статистике, 15.06.2005.

Regionally, the proportions of people not surviving to

age 60 differ by around 10%. The highest proportion was

registered in Karagandy where 37.8% and 36.1% of peo-

ple did not survive to age 60 in 1998 and 2004 respec-

tively. Even in the cities of Astana and Almaty nearly

a quarter of the population still does not survive to 60

years of age.

Proportion of young people aged 16 not enrolled in education. This indicator fell to 1.1% for the 2004/2005 academic year (see table 1.2 in Annex 1) compared to

10.8% in the 1999 census. This demonstrates consider-

ably improving general secondary enrolment. However,

regional disparities in proportions of young people aged

16 not enrolled in education still vary markedly between

0 and 12% in 2004/2005 and between 4.9 and 16.2% in

1998/1999.

The relatively high proportions of 16-year-olds not en-

rolled in education in Akmola and Almaty oblasts may

be associated with proximity to Astana and Almaty, na-

tionally important cities, where the number of enrolled

students signifi cantly exceeds the number on the current

register. The relatively high proportions in other oblasts

can be attributed to inadequate registration of population

in the whole country.

Proportion of people with income (spent on con-sumption) below the subsistence minimum. Accord-

ing to the RK Statistics Agency 34.5% and 16.1% of

Kazakhstan’s population had income below the subsist-

ence minimum in 199514 and 2004 respectively (see ta-ble 1.3 in Annex 1). Regional disparities in this indicator

are quite signifi cant. Until 2004 the worst affected were all southern oblasts as well as Atyrau and Manghistau oblasts where this indicator exceeded 35% in 1999 and 25% in subsequent years. In 2004 poverty incidence

declined rapidly in all oblasts. Only in four oblasts -

Atyrau, Kyzylorda, South Kazakhstan and Manghistau

- did it exceed 20%.

Unemployment rate. By 2004 this indicator had de-clined to 8.4%, which is the level observed in many mar-ket economies, while it was as high as 13.5%15 in 1999

(see table 1.4 in Annex 1). Regional unemployment rates ranged between 8-15% in 1998 and 7-10% in 2004.

Human poverty index. Kazakhstan’s HPI16 based on the

above data shows that in 2004 20.1% of the population were poor from the perspective of human development, compared with 26.2% in 1999 (see table 1.5 in Annex 1). Atyrau oblast was one of the three most affected over the

whole review period. Zhambyl and Manghistau oblasts

were among three with the lowest HPI three times. In

2004, in addition to Atyrau oblast, Akmola and Kara-

gandy oblasts had the lowest HPIs.

The least affected were the cities of Astana and Almaty

whose HPIs was less than 17% in 2002-2003. However,

14 Regional poverty incidence values for 1998 cannot be compared to values

for the subsequent years because the food basket changed in 1999.

15 Before 2001 the RK Statistics Agency calculated unemployment rate using

the labor force balance. Since 2004 it has been based on the fi ndings of an

employment/unemployment survey of 21,000 households.

16 UNDP uses a special methodology to calculate the Human Poverty Index,

which is the cube root of the arithmetic mean of cubical indicators on

which it is built.


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in 2004 Almaty’s HPI rose again to 18.1%. Other ob-

lasts’ HPIs for 2004 varied between 18.9% in Almaty

oblast and 21.6% in Kostanai oblast.

What is the poverty profi le for individual human de-velopment problems disaggregated by age group?

Demographic tables of mortality rates show that the mortality rate of people of working age is high in

Kazakhstan17. This is exemplifi ed by 41% of men and 17.1% of women aged 20 not surviving to age 60. One in four men and one in ten women aged 50 do not survive to age 60 (see table 1.1).

Table 1.1. Proportion of people not surviving to age 60 by sex and age, 2003 (%)

aged 0

aged 20

aged 30

aged 40

aged 50

men 43,1 41,0 38,7 34,4 25,0

women 19,2 17,1 16,0 14,2 10,3

Source: calculated by the author using data provided by the RK Statistics Agency. Demographic Yearbook of Kazakhstan. 2004. Almaty, 2005. - 336p. – p.192-197.

The 1999 census showed notably reduced access to gen-

eral secondary education. For example, 13% of young

people aged 20-24 (15.9% of males and 10% of fe-

males) had only basic or primary education versus 8.7%

in 1989. In the 25-29 age group, 10.5% of people had

only basic or primary education, versus 7.6% in 1989.

At the same time, the proportion of young people with general secondary education fell from 55.1% to 50.3%

in the 20-24 age group, including 53.5% of males and

47.1% of females and from 48.8% to 44.2% in the 25-

29 age group, including 48.9% of males and 39.6% of

females18.

Thus, in 1999 almost two thirds of young people aged 20-24, and over half of those aged 25-29 did not have further education - seriously harming their employment opportuni-ties. Five years after the census, access to education had

improved markedly, but young people’s access to further

education is still an issue to be addressed (see Chapter 5).

As per the proportion of population of different age

groups with income spent on consumption below the

subsistence minimum, household surveys held in 2004

show that families with children are the most disad-vantaged, while the least disadvantaged are households of older age groups without children. Thus, in 2004

33.1% of the poor population were children aged 0-14

who accounted for 22.9% of all surveyed households.

Only 4.8% of the poor population were people aged 65+,

accounting for 8.9% of all surveyed households19 (see table1.6 in Annex 1).

Resulting from a prevalence of boys in the 0-14 age

group, children aged 0-14 account, respectively, for

34.7% and 31.8% of the male and female populations

with incomes below the subsistence minimum. The re-

17 Demographic Yearbook of Kazakhstan. 2004. Almaty,2005. - 336p.

– p.192-197.

18 Population of Kazakhstan by educational level. Results of the 1999 census.

Statistical digest / Edited by А. Smailov. – Almaty, 2000. – 230p. – P.28-

29; data for 1989 was calculated using data written on pages 8-25.

19 Living Standards in Kazakhstan. Statistical digest. – Almaty, 2005. – 174p.

– P.72-73.

verse is the case for those aged 65+, among whom 3.3%

of men and 6.1% of women are poor.

Employment and unemployment surveys conducted

among households show that young people are mostly affected by unemployment because they lack profes-sional education and work experience. Thus, in 2004

while the overall unemployment rate was 8.4%, the rate

among 16-19 year olds was 18.4%, 12.7% in the 20-24

age group, and only 4.2% among people aged 60-64.

The unemployment rates for people with basic, general

secondary and incomplete higher education were 11.2%,

10.7% and 11.1% respectively20.

1.2.2. HUMAN DEVELOPMENT INDEX

According to UNDP’s Global Human Development

Report, Kazakhstan and other CIS countries have gone

through two phases of human development. The fi rst

phase (1990-1995) was characterized by dramatic de-

clines in the main human development indicators, send-

ing Kazakhstan down from 54th to 93rd in the world

HDI ranking. During the second phase (1995-2003) the

human development indicators slowly recovered, raising

Kazakhstan to 80th21 in the HDI rank. This, however, is

still lower than its 1990 position. The same trend can

also be observed for other CIS countries.

The trends in absolute HDI fi gures provided in Global

Human Development Reports cannot be compared be-

cause calculation methodologies have been changing.

Below are the HDI indicators for Kazakhstan re-calcu-

lated using the methodology described in the most recent

Global Human Development Report (see table 1.2).

Table 1.2. Kazakhstan’s Human Development In-dex, 1990-2004

Показатели 1990 1995 2004 1995 к 1990

2004 к 1995

Life expectancy

(LE) at birth,

years 1)

68,1 63,5 66,2 -4,6 +2,7

Literacy rate, %1) 97,7 98,7 99,5 +1,0 +0,8

Enrolment ratio,

%1) 80,0 73,0 84,0 +7,0 +11,0

GDP per capita,

USD at PPP 2) 6283 4508 7260 -1776 +2752

Life expectancy

index 2) 0,718 0,642 0,686 -0,077 +0,044

Education index 2) 0,918 0,901 0,943 -0,017 +0,042

Income index 2) 0,691 0,636 0,715 -0,055 +0,079

HDI 2) 0,776 0,726 0,782 -0,050 +0,056

Source: 1 data provided by the RK Statistics Agency ; 2 calculated by the author

20 Основные индикаторы рынка труда в Республике Казахстан за 2004

год: Справочник / Серия 13. Занятость населения и оплата труда.

– Алматы: Агентство РК по статистике, 2005. – 248 с. – С.104.

21 It should be underlined that in its Global Human Development Report

2005 UNDP signifi cantly reduced estimated life expectancy at birth for the

CIS compared to the previous report (by 0.8 – 5.2 years). Internationally

compared infant mortality rates are supposed to be much higher in the CIS

compared to values registered using the old methodology. Kazakhstan’s

estimated life expectancy fell by 3 years. Our estimates suggest that

in Kazakhstan infant mortality registered according to the WHO

methodology is no more than 1.5-1.7 times higher than that registered

using the old methodology, which results in a reduction in life expectancy

by approximately one year.


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The table clearly shows that between 1990 and 1995

Kazakhstan’s HDI fell by 0.050. 52% of this reduction

was associated with a decrease in life expectancy, 37%

with a reduction in GDP per capita and 11% with fall-

ing enrolment.

From 1996-2004 Kazakhstan’s HDI grew by 0.056, of

which 48% was associated with an increase in GDP per

capita, 27% with a rise in life expectancy and 25% with

an 11% increase in enrolment.

Despite the gradual growth of HDI, regional disparities

in HDI have intensifi ed. In 1990 the highest regional HDI

was 7% more than the lowest regional HDI, but by 2004

this difference had reached as much as 20% (see table 1.7 in Annex 1). This can be accounted for by sustained

regional disparities in GDP per capita, which amounted

to 12.1 times in 2004. The respective indices of GDP per

capita differ by 0.416 (see table 1.8 in Annex 1).

Regional disparities in income per capita spent on con-

sumption are less – 2.9 times in 2004. As a result, region-

al income indices differ only by 0.178 (see table 1.9 in Annex 1). Consequently, less differentiation is observed

in regional HDIs built on incomes spent on consumption

(see table 1.10 in Annex 1 and Figure 1.2).

Figure 1.2. Regional HDIs built on incomes spent on consumption

Source: data provided by the RK Statistics Agency; calculated by the author

A review of HDIs disaggregated by year shows that re-

gional human development was lowest mainly in 1995-

1996. In more recent years the HDI groupings of Kaza-

khstan’s regions are as follows:

1) Regions with relatively high human development (cities of Astana and Almaty) whose HDIs have

stood at over 0.8 for the last three years

2) Regions with human development at the average national level (Aktobe, Atyrau, East Kazakhstan,

West Kazakhstan, Karagandy, Manghistau and

Pavlodar oblasts) whose HDIs vary between

0.777 and 0.798

3) Regions with human development slightly less than the average national level (Akmola, Al-

maty, Zhambyl, Kostanai, Kyzylorda, North Ka-

zakhstan and South Kazakhstan oblasts) whose

HDIs are below 0.77

Table 1.11 in Annex 1 demonstrates the basic human de-

velopment indicators and their indices, disaggregated by

region in 2004. The highest regional disparities are ob-

served in incomes spent on consumption (by 2.9 times),

accounting for a 27.3% disparity in GDP indices. Life

expectancy and education indices also differ quite nota-

bly, by 11.8% and 12.3% respectively.

Variations in the basic human development indicators

disaggregated by region affected regional HDIs differ-

ently (see table 1.12 in Annex 1). For example, when

a downward trend was observed in all HDIs, reduced

life expectancy accounted for 67% and 60% of the HDI

decrease for Karagandy and Pavlodar oblasts respec-

tively. Meanwhile, it was a reduction in GDP per capita

that accounted for 74% and 76% of the HDI decrease

for Zhambyl and Manghistau oblasts. When an upward

trend was observed in all HDIs, in Atyrau and Manghis-

tau oblasts 78% and 80% of the increase was associated

with greater GDPs per capita, whereas in East Kaza-

khstan oblast longer life expectancy accounted for 40%

of the HDI increase.

1.2.3. GENDER-RELATED DEVELOPMENT INDEX (GDI)

Over the period 1999-2004 gender disparities in life ex-

pectancy increased markedly, as women’s life expectan-

cy rose by 1 year while men could only expect to live a

0.3 of a year longer. (see table 1.13 in Annex 1).

At the same time, the proportion of economically active

women grew by 1.4%, while gender disparities in wages,

i.e. female to male wage ratio, also increased by 5.9%.

In this context, with an increase in GDP per capita by

PPP USD2,967 GDP per woman proportional to female

wages only increased by PPP USD2,059.

These fi gures are included in the values of indices of in-

dividual human development components and HDI for

the entire populaton and disaggregated by gender, illus-

trating an increase in all human development indicators

for both genders over two years. At the same time, there

are growing gender disparities in all human development

components (see table 1.14 in Annex 1).

Thus, gender disparities in terms of access to education

grew from 10 to 17 in favor of women, while gender

disparities in income increased by 6 in favor of men, to-

taling 99 in 2004. Overall, gender disparities in HDI rose

from 0.032 to 0.035. At the same time, women continued to fall further behind in terms of GDP per capita, while men lost more ground in terms of life expectancy and access to education, resulting in a higher overall HDI value for women.

Disparity in female and male HDIs results in the fact that

HDI calculated for both genders using a special formula

including gender disparities, i.e. the gender-related index

or GDI, emerges lower than the overall HDI calculated

for both genders without taking into account gender dis-

parities (see table 1.in Annex 1).

Gender disparities in access to education are barely no-

table in the respective indices, which differed by 1 in

1999-2000 and did not differ at all for 2001-2004. How-

ever, growing gender disparities in life expectancy and

GDP caused growing divergence in the respective indi-


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ces, whether adjusted or unadjusted by gender, by 0.001

for each factor and resulted in a 1 point increase in the

gap between HDI and GDI.

In summary, there are notable gender disparities in the two human development components of HDI - life ex-pectancy at birth and GDP - which are captured as a

decrease in the respective indices.

Furthermore, gender disparities in ageing seriously af-

fect overall human development in Kazakhstan.

Thus, in recent years the age of fi rst marriage has been

rising. From 1999-2003 male and female ages of fi rst

marriages rose from 26 to 26.7 and 23.2 and 23.7 years

respectively22. At the same time, it is from the age of

26 and upwards that women start to prevail in number

over men. At the beginning of 2003 the ratio of men to

women aged 26 and 30 was 992 and 977 per 1,000 re-

spectively23.

The male mortality rate is much higher than that of

women, leading to a faster decreasing male population.

The lowest ratio is observed at age 3, when boys’ mortal-

ity rate is 12% higher than that of girls. In the subsequent

age groups the ratio, however, surges. As a result, the

mortality rate of young men aged 17 and 26 is two and

three times as high as mortality rate of young women of

the same ages respectively24.

As a result of such differences between male and female mortality rates, by the age of marriage there is a relative shortage of men. The 1999 Census reports that 14.1%

of people aged 30-34 have never been married25. Male ‘over’ mortality means that almost one in fi ve (19.1%)26 of 30-year-old men in Kazakhstan do not survive to age 50, increasing the number of widows and fatherless chil-dren. This in turn results in lower family incomes and re-duced opportunities to access education, which increas-es the risk of unemployment. Eventually, opportunities for the human development of wives and children also decline in other areas such as healthcare, housing, etc.

Gender disparities in mortality account for there being

over 25% more women than men in the fi rst older age

groups, i.e. at age 65, versus 26.1% prevalence in 2003,

while in the 80+ age group there are only 348 men per

1,000 women.

1.3. POPULATION BY AGE GROUP AND THEIR SOCIAL AND DEMOGRAPHIC STATUS: TRENDS AND PROSPECTS

In recent years the age composition of Kazakhstan’s

population has been changing rapidly, characterized by

an ageing of the population. The UN defi nes a nation

with 7% of the total population aged 65 and older as

‘ageing’. Kazakhstan crossed this threshold relatively

22 Demographic Yearbook of Kazakhstan. 2004. Almaty, 2005. - 336p.

– p.114.

23 Calculated using data from Demographic Yearbook of Kazakhstan. 2004.

Almaty, 2005. - 336p. – p.28, 33.

24 Calculated using data from Demographic Yearbook of Kazakhstan. 2004.

Almaty, 2005. - 336p. – p.194, 196.

25 1999 population census. RK Statistics Agency.

26 Calculated using the table of life expectancy for 2003: Demographic

Yearbook of Kazakhstan. 2004. Almaty, 2005. - 336p. – p.194-197.

recently: at the beginning of 1999 the proportion of older

people was 6.7%, while by the beginning of 2004 it had

reached 7.4%27.

To some extent, this situation can be attributed to the

clear-cut variations in the age composition of the popu-

lation. At the beginning of 1999 the population pyramid

had an upward wave in the proportion of people aged

56-6328 associated with increased birth rates in the years

before the Second World War. This resulted in the in-

creased proportion of people aged 65+ over the last fi ve

years. However, after that there was a downward wave

associated with the decline in the birth rate during the

Second World War. Such ups and downs rotate approxi-

mately every 25 years. How large will Kazakhstan’s

population be and what age composition will it have? Is

the current population ageing temporary?

To answer this question demographic estimation can

be made building on the demographic capacity trends

observed over recent years, as well as demographic de-

velopment targets. Before making estimations, potential

trends in the following indicators should be assessed:

• total fertility rate;

• male and female life expectancies at birth;

• external migration balance.

Total fertility rate (TFR)29 was only 1.80 in 1999, but

by 2003 had risen to 2.0330. The value for 2004 is esti-

mated at 2.21 and 2.32 for 2005. These increases are as-

sociated with a considerably improved socio-economic

situation and state support to mother and child welfare

initiatives.

Resulting from benefi ts for the care of children under

one year which the state will start to provide as of 1 July

2006, age-specifi c fertility rates31 are estimated to grow

by 7% in 2006, which will result in a rise in the total fer-

tility rate up to 2.49, last observed in 1993. Age-specifi c

fertility rates will increase by a further 5% in 2007, 3%

in 2008 and 1% in 2009, resulting in a rise in the total

fertility rate to 2.7232, which is back up to the 1991 level

(see table 1.16 in Annex 1).

It is expected that measures the Government is taking will

help maintain this total fertility rate until 2015, when,

following the world-wide downward trend in birth rates,

it will decease by 1% each year, reaching a value of 2.36

by 2030, which is close to the 1994 level of 2.40.

27 Demographic Yearbook of Kazakhstan. 2004. Almaty,2005. - 336p. – p.20

28 Demographic Yearbook of Kazakhstan. 2004. Almaty,2005. - 336p. – p.22

and p.317.

29 Total fertility rate showsthe number of children that would be born to each

woman throughout the entire child-bearing age, which is 15-49. The total

fertility rate is built on the birth rates for women of all ages within the

child-bearing age group.


– p.105

31 Age-specifi c birth rate is a ratio of births by women of an age group to the

average annual number of women of this age group.

32 By estimating an increase in the aggregate birth rate it is a likely value

to be set as a target of demographic development that is being estimated

rather than trends in the rate.


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In Kazakhstan life expectancy (LE)33 at birth reached its

maximum value of 70.5 years in 1987, while the lowest

life expectancy of 63.5% was observed in 1995. By 2003

life expectancy at birth had grown back to 65.8 years34.

In 2004 the RK Statistics Agency estimated life expect-

ancy at birth to be 66.2 years. UNDP reports that in 42

countries life expectancy at birth is over 75 years, while

in Japan it stands at 82 years35. The following values of

life expectancy at birth may be targeted by Kazakhstan:

70 years by 2015, 72.5 years by 2020 and 75.7 years by

203036.

Such an increase in life expectancy may be achieved

through a 1.5-4% decrease in the mortality rate (see table

1.17 in Annex 1). This takes into account the consider-

able gender disparity in life expectancy, which stood at

11 years in 2003. Therefore, the calculations are built on

more rapidly declining male (2-4%) versus female (1.5-

3%) mortality in order to bring Kazakhstan’s gender dis-

parity in life expectancy to the more “natural” level of

5 years.

During the period 1968-2003, i.e. for 36 years, Kaza-

khstan had a negative net external migration balance37,

which averaged 114,000 people per year between 1975

and 1991, when the USSR collapsed. It then surged to

a net out-migration of over 500,000 people in 1994, in-

cluding unregistered statistical cards. After that it gradu-

ally fell to reach a net outfl ow fi gure of 8,300 people

in 200338. The year 2004 was the fi rst time in 36 years

that a positive external migration balance had been ob-

served in Kazakhstan, reaching, according to specifi ed

annual data, 2,800 people. Statistics Agency estimates

suggest that the external migration balance reached

+16,200 between January and July 2005.

In our opinion, Kazakhstan’s population emigration po-

tential has been exhausted. A gradual rise in the positive

external migration balance can be expected because of:

• the continuing state policy to support oralmans’

return to Kazakhstan;

• an emerging fl ow of people who emigrated dur-

ing the transition period now returning to Kaza-

khstan (the Statistics Agency reports that from

1990-2003 the total negative external migration

balance was more than 3 million people)

• continuing improvement in the socio-economic

and political situation, combined with low popu-

lation density and abundant natural resources,

making Kazakhstan an attractive destination for

33 Life expectancy is the number of years a person would live if prevailing

patterns of age-specifi c mortality rates were to stay the same. Life

expectancy is calculated using mortality rates.


– p.106.

35 UNDP. 2005. Human Development Report 2005. New York: Oxford

University Press.

36 In this case we are targeting rather than projecting life expectancy as is

done, for example, in the UN MDGs. Targeting lower values means that

Kazakhstan is not targeting to achieve the level of life expectancy at birth

already achieved in 42 countries, even in 25 years.

37 External migration balance is a difference between those coming for

permanent residence and those leaving the country.

38 Demographic time series prepared by the RK Statistics Agency.

labor migration and then residence for people

from neighboring countries.

The positive external migration balance has been esti-

mated to be at least 1 per thousand, or 15,100 people

in 2005. This balance is expected to grow by 0.1 per

thousand annually and reach 3.5 per thousand by 2030.

Building on this fi gure and a population of 20 million

people the external migration balance will amount to

70,000 people.

Table 1.18 in Annex 1 illustrates Kazakhstan’s projected population size until 2030 based on the above estimated

annual increase/decrease of the population and the age/sex

breakdown of the population at the beginning of 2003.

Projections suggest that Kazakhstan’s population will

increase by more than 1 million people every fi ve years

and will total to 20.9 million people by the beginning of

2030. Faster decreases in male mortality will mean that

by 2030 there will be 945 men per 1,000 women com-

pared with 929 men per 1,000 women in recent years.

As early as 2006 the number of births is expected to be

more than 300,000 newborns and will exceed this level

over the entire period under review, to peak at 378,900

newborns in 2015. The total birth rate will peak at 23.0

per thousand in 2010 and will then gradually decline to

16.0 per thousand by 2030.

The number of deaths will gradually grow to 156,800

people by 2010, largely accountable to an increase in the

proportion of people aged 65 and over. During the fol-

lowing 10 years the number of deaths will decrease to

147,200 people in 2020, as a result of a notable decline

in the mortality rate during that period. Subsequently, the

number of deaths will increase again to reach 160,600 in

2030, due to population ageing. There will be a sustained

downward trend in the total mortality rate, which will

decrease to 7.6 per thousand in 2025 and then broadly

remain constant.

Review of the projected age composition of the country’s

population shows a rise in the proportion of population

aged 65+ to 7.8% in 2005, while by 2010-2015 it will drop

to 7.2%. Subsequently, the population will be clearly age-

ing, resulting in an increase in the proportion of older peo-

ple to 11.5% of the population by 2030 (see Figure 1.3).

Figure 1.3. Age composition of Kazakhstan’s popula-tion at year start, 2003-2030

Source: data provided by the RK Statistics Agency; calculated by the author

The proportion of under-15 children will rise from 24.5%

in 2005 to 28.9% in 2020 and will then gradually fall to

24.4% by 2030.

The age dependency ratio39 will signifi cantly increase by

1.3 times between 2005 and 2025 (from 536 to 713) and

39 Age dependency ratio is calculated per 1,000 people as a ratio of people of

non-working age to people of working age. Our calculations are based on

the ratio of people under age15 and people aged 60+ to people aged 15-59.


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will then decrease to 668 because of the falling proportion

of children under 15 (see table 1.19 in Annex 1).

Before 2020 an increase in the proportion of children aged

0-14 and after 2020 an increase in the share of people

aged 60+ will be the main factors accounting for a sharp

increase in the age dependency ratio after 2010. Such es-timates justify the continuing policy of state support to maternal and child health initiatives and a social security system guaranteeing decent maintenance in old age.

CONCLUSION

Data for 2000-2004 suggests that Kazakhstan is a dynami-

cally developing economy, allowing it to address current

and future challenges, in particular population ageing, and

ensure that human capacities are developed and poverty

reduced.

Two threats related to changes in the economic structure

should be emphasized: 1) an over four-fold reduction in

the share of agriculture in GDP compared to 1990 af-

fects rural regions, requiring a continued set of measures to develop Kazakhstan’s agricultural complex as well as production and social infrastructure in rural areas 2) the

growing extraction-based nature of the economy of Ka-

zakhstan, which hinders the country’s economic security and sustainable economic development.Education and health expenditure as a percentage of GDP

is 1.5-2 times less than the level of 1991 or the levels ob-

served in developed countries and a number of transition

economies. This sets a target of continuing to increase public expenditure in these two major areas of human de-velopment. Expected population ageing after 2015 and a rise in the

age dependency ratio after 2010 necessitate a continued policy of state support to maternal and child health ini-tiatives and a social security system guaranteeing decent maintenance in old age. Death rates of people of working age are high in Kaza-khstan. Male ‘over’-mortality means that almost one in fi ve (19.1%) 30-year-old men do not survive to age 50,

which increases the number of widows and fatherless

children. This, in return, results in low family income

and shrinking opportunities to access education, which

increases the risk of unemployment. Eventually, oppor-

tunities for the human development of wives and children

decline in other areas such as healthcare and housing.

Despite the gradual rise of HDI for the whole country, regional disparities have increased. This results from re-

gional disparities in GRP per capita, which reached 12.1

times in 2004, and in income spent on consumption (2.9

times).

There are remarkable gender disparities in two key com-ponents of Kazakhstan’s human development - life expect-ancy at birth and income. Such disparities become evident

from a reduction in the respective indices.

If Kazakhstan is to become a country with a high level

of human development, clear targets must be set. Some

of these have already been articulated in the Millennium

Development Goals, to be achieved by 2015. At the same

time, other targets related to the main human develop-

ment indicators should be revised and determined to be

achieved by 2030.

It is believed that the following human development tar-

gets should be prioritized:

re-establish, by 2015, life expectancy at birth at the peak level of 70.5 years observed in 1987, with 72.5

years to be achieved by 2020 and 75.5 years by 2030;

increase, by 2015, the gross enrolment rate up to 100% with the interim value of 92% to be achieved

by 2010;

increase, by 2015, GDP per capita to PPP USD16,000-17,000 and to USD40,000 by 2030. To

achieve this, the average annual GDP growth will have

to be at least 8.5% by 2010, 7.5% from 2011-2020 and

5.5% between 2021-2030.

Step-by-step progress towards these targets, coupled with

progress towards the MDGs, will allow Kazakhstan to be-

come a country with a high level of human development

as early as 2010.


POVERTY AND INCOME OF OLDER PEOPLE

CHAPTER 2


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2.1. POVERTY PROFILES AND FACTORS

Being a satellite to an economic system, poverty has

always existed in all countries regardless of their level

of economic development. Not only does it affect liv-

ing standards but also the social and political lives of

societies and in many cases precipitates crime and social

confl ict. As a consequence, poverty reduction is a target

to be achieved by the whole world.

In a wide sense, poverty is understood to be the social

and economic status of households or people when their

relatively limited fi nancial, material and other resources

are insuffi cient to meet their physiological, material and

spiritual needs.

“Absolute poverty” is defi ned as the inability to meet

physiological and minimum social needs. The term

“relative poverty” is used when material resources are

insuffi cient to provide for a person’s life according to

the standards of a given country. The term “subjective

poverty” is applied to subjective assessments of material

wealth and attribution to the category of the poor.

When assessing poverty incidence, many countries use

an income or consumption based approach, which nar-

rows the whole concept of poverty. A person may be

wealthy but may not be able to live a long and healthy

life or may stay illiterate or have poor education or may

have no access to important political decision-mak-

ing affecting his/her life. Building on the above, world

practice uses three perspectives from which poverty is

viewed, which are:

• the perspective of income (or consumption);

• the perspective of basic needs;

• the perspective of human development.

The main factor leading to poverty is the loss of stable

income. The causes of poverty are mainly those related

to employment, such as loss of paid work, no pay for the

work done or insuffi cient income caused by a lack of

skills required on the competitive labor market.

Macroeconomic measures and policies can affect the

status of households in three main aspects: changing de-

mand for labor demonstrated in changing wages as the

main income source for households; drastically reduced

social transfers enabling a balance between market-de-

termined income and households’ consumption; chang-

ing relative prices affecting the composition of the food

basket and households’ spending capacity.

Employment, age and place of residence become major

risk factors.

1. Employment – households where the head is

unemployed or economically inactive are at a

higher risk of poverty than other people. Unem-

ployment correlates with the level of education.

People with only primary education are at higher

risk of poverty compared to people with second-

ary or higher levels of education.

2. Age – in most countries children and older people

are at higher risk of poverty. The more children a

household has, the higher its relative risk of pov-

erty. The more dependents and unemployed able-

bodied adults a family has, the higher its risk of

experiencing poverty.

3. Place of residence – in most countries rural peo-

ple are at higher risk of poverty compared with

the urban population.

Poverty is considered to mean limited resources for hu-

man development. A person should not be limited in

meeting his/her basic needs in food, clothing and shel-

ter. Poverty eradication increases the chances of living a

long and healthy life, access to adequate education, par-

ticipation in social life and having suffi cient income to

meet other socio-cultural needs.

Before 1992 the social phenomenon known as extreme

poverty, did not exist in Kazakhstan, especially among

older people.

The shift to a market economy occurred against a back-

ground of deepening economic crisis, which negatively

affected economic performance and the living standards

of the population.

Figure 2.1. Real change in GDP, wages and assigned pensions, 1991-2004, % of 1990

Source: RK Statistics Agency

Throughout 1991-1995 production of goods and

services was contracting. By 1995, real GDP had de-

creased by 38.6% versus 1990 levels, real wages by

69.9%, assigned pensions by 77.3% and construction

investments by some 84.1%.

Along with the shrinking production of goods and

services the country was affected by hyperinfl ation,

which was only brought under control in 1996. The

infl ation rate of 1995 versus 1990 grew by 29,605

times. In real terms, average monthly wages depreci-

ated by 3.2 times and average monthly pensions by 5

times between 1990 and 1995.

Poverty in Kazakhstan was characterized by unem-

ployment and low and widely varying incomes among

the population.

Reduced monetary income of the majority of the pop-

ulation resulted in the social polarization of society,

which was affected by material disparities and the gap

between income of the richest 10% and poorest 10%

of the population. From the late 1990s onwards, the

economy started to develop positively and poverty in-

cidence gradually began to fall, from 34.5% in 1999

to 12.2% in 2004, while. income inequality leveled

off. Poverty depth decreased by almost 5 times and

poverty severity by 7 times.


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Table 2.1. Income inequality in KazakhstanProportion of people

with income below Pov-

erty

depth

Pov-

erty

sever-

ity

Gini coeffi -

cient by 20%

groups of

population subsistence

minimum

food basket

cost

1999 34,5 14,5 13,7 5,5 0,332

2000 31,8 11,7 10,3 4,0 0,307

2001 28,4 11,7 7,8 3,1 0,322

2002 24,2 8,9 6,1 2,2 0,312

2003 19,8 6,3 4,6 1,6 0,300

2004 16,1 4,3 3,3 1,0 0,291

Source: Living Standards and Poverty in Kazakhstan. Statistical monitoring. Almaty, 2005

According to an annual sample survey of households

conducted by the RK Statistics Agency, the following

groups constitute Kazakhstan’s poor i.e. those with in-

come below the subsistence minimum:

• Children under 14 – 33%;

• Adolescents and young people aged 15-19 – 13%;

• Older people and retirees – 6.7%.

Low aggregate income of the majority of people stands

out as an important cause of poverty in Kazakhstan. The

characteristic of Kazakhstan’s poverty is that it affects

both the employed and unemployed.

According to international practice a poverty line - in-

come of US$1.08 a day at purchasing power parity

(PPP) of national currency to the US dollar - is used to

determine poverty incidence.

Figure 2.2


According to the World Bank, a poverty line of

US$2.15 per day is more reasonable for Central Asia.

In Kazakhstan the Law “On Subsistence Minimum”

of 1999 specifi es that the poverty line shall be deter-

mined by the subsistence minimum. In 2000-2004 the

poverty line stood at PPP US$3.5-3.7. This makes the

Kazakhstan subsistence minimum similar to the pov-

erty line used for international poverty comparisons

of transition economies.

Insert 2.1

Social services for the elderly in EuropeIn the last 15-20 years in Europe there has been an increase in solidarity ideology, with activities known as “community develop-

ment”. This area of social work involves wide participation of residents in solving of their own problems on the basis of mutual

help and cooperation. Resources of community development are the elderly people, who have qualifi cations, life experience

and, most importantly, time. It is generally accepted that even the best boarding schools or institutions cannot replace the fam-

ily and home. On this basis there was a re-evaluation of the role of family, neighbors and local community as the basic social

resources. Mixed structures of social policy began to be developed, in every country based on their own historical and cultural

traditions.

In Sweden in the early 1990s, economic recession brought a signifi cant fall in expenditure on social needs and led to the follow-

ing approaches being adopted:

– optimization of resource usage, production of a large number of services in one unit of expenditures;

– use of resources only to provide essential needs of the elderly;

– allocation of resources between groups of population and various aspects of social policy.

Increased effectiveness of services for the elderly in Sweden is achieved by adopting a less universal, more focused provision of

services. If customers do not need certain services or need a completely different service, then the government can save money

for those who really need them.

In Great Britain during the period of prevalence of state welfare, social groups were formed in order to solve problems that the

government could not solve adequately. Increasing needs and poverty among pensioners led to the creation of such non-profi t

organizations as Age Concern, Help Age, Cinderella Services. This growing role of the voluntary sector was supported by the

government and an actual transfer of social services to local communities took place. Communities became responsible for pro-

viding services to the elderly. Meanwhile, the government, from being the main provider of services for the elderly has become

more like an agent, coordinating the actions of other service providers.

In France, serving the elderly is based on an increase of in-family resources, municipal social services and non-governmental/

non-commercial organizations. Decentralization and delegation of authority to the regions and municipalities began in 1982.

Prefectures of regions or city administrations can subsidize the activities of small and medium non-governmental enterprises and

organize enterprises to serve the population. Thus, communities must create institutions to serve the elderly. At the same time,

the majority of services are provided by city administrations, private sector organizations and NGO/NCOs.

All services focus on support in a family setting, since institutions are now seen as places of social isolation. In particular, fami-

lies are provided with special aid to take care of their elders. This either compensates for lost wages of the family member who

takes care of the elderly, or allows the family to hire a nurse. Delivery of food to homes is widely developed, as is the help of

special social workers in taking care of the elderly family members, cleaning, renovating and modernizing apartments.

* Irina Grigoryeva. SOCIAL SERVICES FOR THE ELDERLY AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT: IS WESTERN EXPERIENCE APPLICABLE IN RUSSIA?http://www.strana-oz.ru/?numid=24&article=1069


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2.2. REGIONAL DISPARITIES IN POVERTY IN KAZAKHSTAN

In Kazakhstan poverty incidence varies notably from re-

gion to region (Table 2.2).

Table 2.2. Regions by proportion of poor people

Poverty incidence (proportion of poor people out of total

population of region)

Region

Low (1.1-2.8%) Cities of Astana and Almaty

Middle (14-18.3%)

Kostanai, North Kazakhstan ,

Almaty, Akmola, Aktobe, East

Kazakhstan, West Kazakhstan,

Karagandy and Pavlodar oblasts

High (21-29.1%)

Atyrau, Manghistau, Zhambyl,

South Kazakhstan and Kyzylorda

oblasts


In 2004 the lowest poverty incidence was observed in

the cities of Astana and Almaty where the proportions

of people with income below the subsistence minimum

were 1.1% and 2.8% respectively.

The highest poverty incidence was in Atyrau oblast

(29.1%) which also had the highest GRP per capita and

average wage. High poverty incidence (26-21%) is also

observed in Manghistau and South Kazakhstan oblasts.

In Kazakhstan a important factor determining poverty

status is a person’s place of residence. Economic reforms

have had varying effects on different economic sectors

and as a consequence, on different oblasts depending on

their production specialization. This particularly the case

for agriculture, with its ineffi cient production and low

incomes.

The southern agricultural oblasts have traditionally had

high poverty indicators. Another factor hindering the liv-

ing standards of the population of these areas is the size

of the informal economy, which promotes unreported

income generated by households.

In western oblasts such as Atyrau and Manghistau in-

dustrial production makes up over half of GRP. How-

ever, the local population often remains uninvolved in

the production of high income in the oil and gas sector,

leading to high poverty incidence among the local peo-

ple of these oblasts.

Regional disparities in poverty incidence are also associ-

ated with their poorly developed labor markets that fail

to ensure adequate employment of the population.

In Kazakhstan poverty is more prevalent in rural than ur-

ban areas. Over recent years rural versus urban poverty

incidence has increased from 1.9 times in 2001 (38.5%

and 20% respectively) to 2.9 times in 2003 (30.9% and

10.8% respectively) and stood at 2.7 times in 2004.

In 2004 urban poverty incidence was highest in Kyzy-

lorda (21.4%), Atyrau (20.6%), Zhambyl (14.6%) and

South Kazakhstan (17.0%) oblasts. The highest rural

poverty incidence was registered in Manghistau (47.0%),

Atyrau (41.8%), Kyzylorda (35.7%) and Karagandy

(38.9%) oblasts.

2.3. POVERTY IN OLDER AGE

The older population includes retirees employed in dif-

ferent economic sectors and therefore generating addi-

tional income. Thus, it would be reasonable to expect

that this group will be less affected by poverty. However,

while this group is less affected by extreme poverty – ex-

perienced by the poorest 20% of the population - they

are more likely than the rest of the population to be in the

second poorest 20% group. Also, this group is more like-

ly to have an income at the subsistence minimum level.

Employed retirees are much less affected by poverty.

A real reduction in benefi ts, pensions in particular, has

affected the elderly’s living standards and made their

poverty deeper. This has mostly affected very old peo-

ple without property and the physically unfi t, unable to

benefi t from labor activity. They required personal care

which the government was unable to ensure to the full.

The proportion of such older people is estimated at 5-7%

of the total older population.

Table 2.3. Breakdown of older people in surveyed households by sex and income spent on consumption, 2003 (%)

People with income spent on con-sumption:

above subsist-ence minimum

below subsistence minimum

Total population 100,0 100,0

of which people aged:

60–64 4,8 2,3

65 and older 10,6 4,4

women 100,0 100,0


60–64 5,6 2,6

65 and older 13,0 5,6

men 100,0 100,0


60–64 3,8 2,0

65 and older 7,6 3,1

Source: Major Labor Market Indicators. 2004.

From 1996-2004 the ratio of subsistence minimum to mini-

mum pension was minor. At the same time, both indica-

tors exceed the poverty line determined by the World Bank

more than two-fold. The average assigned pension for civil-

ians is only slightly more than the subsistence minimum

and the minimum pension. This means that up until 2005

nearly all retirees were receiving benefi ts, in the form of

pensions, close to the subsistence minimum.

The average pension was lower than the subsistence mini-

mum until and including 1998, while in the subsequent two

years it was slightly more than subsistence level. The pro-

portion of older people in the total poor population varied

from 53% to 40% during 1996-2000.

In 2004, the average monthly pension amounted to 8,628

tenge, while the subsistence minimum was 5,427 tenge.

However, with a higher poverty line many retirees are at

risk of living in poverty.


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The food basket accounts for 70% of the subsist-

ence minimum calculated in Kazakhstan, while the

cost of non-foods and services is statistically fixed

at 30%. However, utilities and costs of various

services have increased significantly due to priva-

tizations since independence. This has pushed Ka-

zakhstan’s older people much closer to the poverty

line. A more accurate and objective analysis of the

subsistence minimum would allow identification

of a wider range of people, including retirees, who

need targeted assistance. An adjusted subsistence

minimum used to assign and calculate all benefits,

including pensions, would better capture the real

expenditure of the population.

Table 2.4. Ratio of wages and pensions to subsistence minimum, 2000-2004, tenge

Показатели 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004Subsistence minimum (SM) 4007 4596 4761 5128 5427

Proportion of people with

income below the subsistence

minimum, %

31,8 28,4 24,2 19,8 16,1

Average monthly nominal

wage 14374 17303 20323 23128 28329

Ratio of average monthly nominal wage to SM 3,6 3,8 4,3 4,5 5,2

Minimum pension 3500 4000 4336 5500 5800

Ratio of minimum pension to SM 0,9 0,9 0,9 1,07 1,14

Average pension 4462 4947 5818 8198 8628

Ratio of average pension to SM 1,1 1,1 1,2 1,6 1,6

Source: Living Standards and Poverty in Kazakhstan. Statistical monitoring. Almaty, 2005

However, it is not wholly reasonable to treat govern-

ment-provided monetary pensions as the key charac-

teristic of older people’s living standards. It should be

taken into account that throughout their lives many older

people were buying possessions and property, which, in

the new context, became important economiс providers

in their daily lives.

According to the patriarchy practiced by oriental na-

tions, living and working together are vital for the

family system. In addition, there is a culture of look-

ing to the extended family for support of older mem-

bers. In Kazakh families it was traditional that the

younger son would live and take care of the older

parents after older siblings had separated from the

parental family and had their own families. At the

same time, all children were supposed to contribute

to the elderly parents’ maintenance. Until the last

decade “composite” families where parents lived

with their children’s families were common among

Kazakh families.

In Kazakh families the older parents were responsible

for raising their grandchildren, which is a tradition

still observed in rural families where young families

live with their parents. This can be partially attributed

to a higher unemployment rate in rural areas where

the majority of young families survive on small farm

businesses and their older parents’ pensions. Parent’s

pensions are most often the main monetary income

source for such families.

Greater migration of rural young people to urban areas

has resulted in many young urban families choosing to

leave their children to be raised by their grandparents re-

siding in rural areas while providing some maintenance.

However, in recent decades the number of “simple”

families where children live separately from their older

parents has increased signifi cantly. This makes it more

diffi cult for the older generation to survive and creates

a generation gap.

In general, the tradition of taking care of older parents is

still alive in most families, maintaining inter-generation-

al ties. Children take care of their parents both socially

and fi nancially, while parents help to raise grandchildren

by looking after them, which is especially important

when young mothers have to go back to work after ma-

ternity leave in order to earn family income along with

young fathers.

Since 2000 Kazakhstan’s economy has been developing

fast. In this context poverty alleviation has become one

of the priorities for the Government, which has taken the

following steps:

• Microcredit program underway;

• National Fund to support low-income people set up;

• Programme to fi ght poverty and unemployment

in Kazakhstan for 2000-2002 adopted and imple-

mented;

• Law “On State Targeted Social Assistance” adopted;

• with assistance from the Asian Development

Bank and UNDP State Poverty Reduction Strat-

egy for 2003-2005 adopted in 2002.

Eradication of extreme poverty enables better access

to education of better quality, better health status, with

reduced child and maternal mortality rates, as well as

lower disease incidence rates and an improved environ-

mental situation.

State social policy is an important tool to reduce

poverty. The increase in pensions in 2005 should

contribute to an improved economic situation for

the older population. However, rural older people’s

living standards remain low. This can be attributed

to dilapidated rural infrastructure, lack of social in-

stitutions, lack of safe drinking water and other is-

sues needing to be addressed to improve rural liv-

ing standards. In addition, many rural retirees have

to use their pensions to support unemployed family

members.

Social policy interventions identified in the State

Poverty Reduction Programme for 2003-2005 in or-

der to improve the living standards of the older pop-

ulation target increased pensions, with partial dif-

ferentiation, and better healthcare. The Programme

aimed at a one third reduction in poverty incidence

in 2005 compared to 2002, which was achieved in

2004. From 2001-2004 the proportion of people with

income spent on consumption below the subsist-

ence minimum fell from 28.4% in 2001 to 16.1% in

2004.


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The Program identifi ed the following key poverty reduc-

tion interventions:

• improving the employment status of the population;

• creating economic and legislative frameworks

to develop entrepreneurship, competitiveness

and factory production. This will promote better

production of goods and services, reduced pro-

duction costs and improved remuneration;

• substantially increasing pensions and targeted

benefi ts for disadvantaged groups.

As of 1 July 2005 certain achievements can be identifi ed.

For example, in 2001 the minimum wage and minimum

pension were 80% and 90% of the subsistence minimum

respectively. However, by 2004 both had grown above

this level. (Figure 2.3)

As per the President’s Message to the People of Kaza-

khstan “On the way to fast economic, social and po-

litical enhancement” the minimum wage and pension

were set at 9,200 tenge as of 1 July 2005. This equals

US$70.70 at the offi cial exchange rate, or US$2.40 or

PPP US$7.30 per day.

As of 1 July 2005 the minimum wage and pension, in-

cluding basic pension, exceed the subsistence minimum

by nearly 60%.

The main indicators of socio-economic development

for 2001-2005 therefore demonstrate positive trends

in economic development and the welfare of the pop-

ulation.

Figure 2.3. Main indicators of poverty status in Ka-zakhstan, 2001-2005


Meanwhile, improved production of goods and services

and achievement of macroeconomic balance have ena-

bled adequately improved welfare of the Kazakhstan

population.

In 2005 GDP per capita will be 3,338.5 tenge, which is

2.7 times more than in 2000. Real income will grow by

43.5%, real wages by 65.7%, minimum pension by 2,700

tenge or 1.8 times and average pension by 2.1 times.

The proportion of the population with income below the

subsistence minimum will be 14.3% in 2005, compared

with 31.8% in 2000.

The gap between incomes of the poorest and richest

10%, which stood at 11.9 times in 2000, has fallen to 7.5

times in 2005 - a value close to those registered in many

developed countries.

2.4. GENDER AND AGE DIMENSIONS OF POVERTY. VULNERABILITY OF OLDER PEOPLE.

Kazakhstan’s current economic and social reforms aim

to facilitate social and human development, including

social comfort and equality.

Equal rights and the freedom of all people to be free from

gender discrimination were fi rst declared in the UN Charter

of 1945 and is currently considered as a means of achieving

gender partnership for development. The Fourth UN World

Women’s Conference held in Beijing in 1995 resulted in the

gender equality concept, underlining the need to restructure

societies and gender relations in order to establish a real and

equal gender partnership in all spheres of life.

Insert 2.2In Kazakhstan men and women can equally access education.

Therefore, there is no need to target to achieve gender equal-

ity at any level of education. In Kazakhstan gender inequality

is observed mainly in political and economical aspects.40

Reforms taken in nearly all economic and social sectors

have resulted in signifi cant disparities in the status of

men and women on the labor market, as well as income

and living standards disparities. Another factor contrib-

uting to this situation was the unequal access of men and

women to fi nancial and credit resources and property,

including land and real estate tenure.

The after-effects of the transition deepened gender in-

equality in political, economic and social spheres, which

can be attributed to:

• the status of men and women in the economy, on

the labor market and socio-labor relations;

• access to fi nancial resources, property and power;

• involvement of women and men in national deci-

sion making;

• division of family income and time resources.

Women lag behind men in all of the above areas.

According to census data, although men are much less educat-

ed than women, they prevail in the overall proportion of work-

ers employed in different sectors. Thus, in 1995–1999 women

only accounted for 45.6-47.0% of employees nationwide.

Gender disparities in remuneration have become

more tangible over the last decade. In the early 1990s

nationwide statistics reported that the average woman’s

wage only amounted to 70% of the average man’s, and

by 2004 this inequality had increased further, to 61.7%.

This situation is associated with the fact that women are

more concentrated in low-paid sectors and that men hold

better remunerated positions within sectors by economic

activities. Thus, in 2003 the female to male wage ratio

was 67.9% in the industrial sector, 61.4% in the fi nan-

cial sector, 76.1% in public administration and 84.6% in

education. In the more ‘feminized’ sectors such as edu-

cation, health and agriculture, with lower remuneration,

gender wage disparities are less pronounced. 40

40 Poverty in Kazakhstan: Causes and Cures UNDP/Almaty, 2003


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Table 2.5. Wages of men and women workers, 1999-2003, tenge

1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004Average monthly

nominal wage, total,

including:

11864 14374 17303 20323 23128 28329

men 14304 17603 21511 24847 28476 34648

women 9485 10819 12635 15340 17304 21445

Female to male wage

ratio (%) 66,3 61,5 58,7 61,7 60,8 61,9

Source: Women and Men of Kazakhstan. Brief statistical book. Almaty, 2005

Regional differences also affect gender disparities. The

highest gender disparities in income are observed in ob-

lasts with the highest GRP produced through extraction

industries. In West Kazakhstan oblast average female

wages amount to 46.5% of male wages, while in Atyrau

and Manghistau oblasts this indicator is 47.2% and 47%

respectively.

As per male and female poverty status, at the beginning

of the second millennium one in three Kazakhstani men

(33.2%) had income below the subsistence minimum,

while nearly half the country’s women (44.9%) had in-

comes at this level.

Factors causing gender disparities in remuneration in-

clude:

• disproportional and defl ected distribution of fe-

male workers in different sectors resulting in con-

centration of female labor in low-paid sectors;

• occupational segregation, meaning disparities in

remuneration of women and men workers em-

ployed in the same sector because women per-

form duties or hold positions requiring lower

qualifi cations and because women have limited

access to leadership positions;

• a two-sector employment model is developing in

Kazakhstan resulting in women being forced into

the secondary sector.

These factors often make women more vulnerable in

terms of income.

Gender disparities in employment and income add to

gender disparities in pension security, thus putting older

women at a greater risk of poverty. Approximately 70%

of older women are poor. All retirees are at high risk of

poverty. However, female retirees are at greater risk of

poverty because most of them become lonely in old age

due men’s shorter life expectancy: female life expect-

ancy at birth was 72.5 years in 2004, which is 11 years

more than for men. In 1990 the gap between female and

male life expectancies was lower, at 9.5 years. This indi-

cates serious and growing gender disparities in mortality

rates.

Unequal distribution and access of men and women to

economic resources are still unresolved issues for Kaza-

khstan. Employment in social production, adequate re-

muneration of female workers and a better framework to

reduce disparities in pension savings of men and women

and to support economically and socially the entire older

population are all issues to be addressed by state eco-

nomic and social development programs.

Regarding gender equality, the government has identi-

fi ed four priority policy areas:

• political empowerment;

• economic advancement;

• improvement of women’s and family health;

• eradication of violence against women.

The National Commission for Family and Women’s Af-

fairs under the President of Kazakhstan was established

and is operational in Kazakhstan. The Commission co-

ordinates the implementation of a National Plan for Im-

proving Women’s Status to promote increased involve-

ment of women in the socio-political life of the country,

stimulate women’s NGOs working to advocate for fami-

lies, women and children and support female entrepre-

neurship.

2.5. PENSION COVERAGE FOR HUMAN DEVELOPMENT

As the population ages, pension coverage becomes of

particular importance. Decent old age provision is a pri-

ority for a people-centered state, which Kazakhstan is.

The country has always treated the matter as a priority,

while in recent years it has become a matter of national

importance. The main rationale behind this is that most

retirees have only one income source - their pension.

Therefore the pension’s purchasing power directly af-

fects the welfare, longevity and quality of life of the re-

tired population.

In the initial stages of independence Kazakhstan had the

legacy of Soviet pension schemes based on the solidar-

ity of pension assignment and payment. The pension

amount was calculated at 50% of the wage and varied in

proportion to the work record and wages for fi ve consec-

utive years out of the last ten years of work. Compared

to other countries, the retirement age was quite early. For

example, women and men could retire at age 55 and 60

respectively, while some groups such as military person-

nel, mothers of large families, residents of the Semipal-

atinsk polygon or other ecologically depressed areas,

workers employed in hazardous industries or labor con-

ditions, etc., could retire even earlier. However, the crisis

of the ‘perestroika’ period which affected Kazakhstan in

the mid-1990s, drove all social provision, including the

pension system, to the brink of collapse. This affected

the living standards of the majority of Kazakhstan’s pop-

ulation – above all retired and disabled people whose

benefi ts were cut to a minimum and were not suffi cient

for even minimum needs. This was also the period when the inadequacy of the pension distribution system, based on the ‘solidarity’ of generations in the context of emerg-ing population ageing became apparent.

In Kazakhstan, pension coverage issues were compre-

hensively addressed through pension reforms, according

to which, starting from 1 January 1998 all those em-

ployed and those reaching working age were to be part


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of a saving rather than solidarity based pension scheme.

The Chilean pension system was used as a model. Kaza-

khstan was the fi rst CIS country to initiate such swift and

radical reforms to its pension assignment and payment

arrangements.

As a result of these pension reforms, the following three

pension schemes have been in place in Kazakhstan for

nearly 8 years:

• a completely solidarity-based scheme for which

people who retired before 1 January 1998, are eli-

gible;

• combined schemes for which retirees whose pen-

sions were assigned after 1 January 1998 or are

being assigned at the present time, are eligible;

• a savings-based scheme for which those without

a work record or whose work record was less than

6 months as of 1 January 1998, are eligible.

As the population ages, the fi rst two schemes will fade

away and eventually be completely replaced by the sav-

ings-based scheme.

The reforms affected people already retired at the time it

was initiated, for whom it was mainly benefi cial because

outstanding pension accounts were closed in early 1998

using a loan provided by the World Bank. In addition,

a new law “On Pension Coverage in Kazakhstan” pro-

vided anticipatory readjustment of assigned pensions to

take place on an annual basis to compensate for infl ation.

According to the law solidarity pensions are adjusted

and the minimum pension amount increased.

Nevertheless, the reforms had some negative implica-

tions. For example, pensions were now paid a month

later rather than a month in advance, as was the require-

ment of the previous law.

In the 1990s and the initial years of pension reforms,

readjustment of pensions resulted in a leveling off of

pensions paid to those who retired before the reforms,

meaning that the pensions received did not fully take

into account work record, specialization, position held

or wage used for pension calculation.

One of the implications of inadequate pension coverage

was that the Program to Combat Poverty and Unemploy-

ment for 2000-2002 identifi ed retirees as the principal

and largest (1.8 million) group of the population that

was most disadvantaged. In 2003 in order to assess more

fairly how retirees contribute to the economy and to dif-

ferentiate and increase pensions, a special methodology

was used to re-calculate pensions, depending on the sec-

tor of the economy pensioners had work in and the ratio

of their wages to the average wage paid in that sector.

This ensured an over 40% increase in average pensions,

which rose from 5,818 to 8,198 tenge at 2003 year end.

As a follow-up to the President’s Message to the People

of Kazakhstan “On the way to fast economic, social and

political enhancement”, additional pension payments

amounting to 3,000 tenge per month were effected for

all retirees as of 1 July 2005. This measure allowed the

minimum pension to be fi xed at 9,200 tenge per month,

while the average pension is estimated at 12,000 tenge

per month.

Pension re-calculation and adjustment allowed almost

all retirees to move out of the category of the poor be-

cause their income exceeded both the poverty line and

the subsistence minimum two-fold. Only retirees with

dependents such as unemployed children or grandchil-

dren remained among the poor, receiving targeted state

assistance: there were 3,693 such people as of 1 June

2005, most in rural areas.

At the beginning of 2005 there were 1.6 million pen-

sion recipients in Kazakhstan, of which 97.4% were old

age pension recipients, only 1.9% had incomplete work

records, while the remainder had adequate work records.

The regional breakdown of pension recipients shows

some regional disparities. The highest average nominal

pensions were registered in Almaty (10,067 tenge), As-

tana (9,618 tenge) and Manghistau oblast (9,182 tenge).

The highest average wages were also registered in these

regions. The lowest pensions were registered in South

Kazakhstan (7,549 tenge) and Zhambyl (7,861 tenge)

oblasts. The real pension indices based on pension pur-

chasing power were also highest in Almaty (100.4%),

Astana (100.3%) and Atyrau (99.8%).

To compensate for the high costs of goods and services

the Almaty city Akim agreed an allowance to be paid

out of the city budget to all retirees not receiving special

state benefi ts, effective as of 1999 in Almaty city. This

allowance amounts to 50% of the calculation index and

is considered an addition, for which war veterans also

became eligible as of 2005.

Nevertheless, and despite these re-calculations and in-

creases, average pensions still do not exceed 35% of av-

erage wages. However, ILO Convention 102 fi xes the

income replacement value of pensions between 40-45%

and 75% of the average wage.

The savings-based pension schemes, replacing the soli-

darity-based scheme, must become a pension source for

insurance holders to be paid from contributions accrued

on personal accounts and dividends gained by investing

pension funds in assets through management companies.

Unlike solidarity and distribution based schemes which

are sensitive to demographic changes and wages on the

labor market, the effectiveness of the savings-based

scheme depends on capital markets, and in particular in-

terest rates and infl ation estimations, as well as effective

fi nancial institutions.

Insert 2.3.In cooperation with NGO Moldir, the Almaty Department of

Employment and Social Programming undertook a poll to

collect ideas on how to improve the status of older people.

Most responding retirees noted that not only was it impor-

tant for older people to secure state support but also to get

involved in social life and use their life experience in raising

the young generation. Some older people reported improve-

ments in their living standards and saw fi nancial security or

good pensions as an important strategy to solve their prob-

lems. Poll results indicate three main issues for pensioners:

poor health, low income and loneliness.


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The main elements of the pension reforms were as follows:

• retirement age raised;

• requirements for pension assignment made stricter;

• more extensive work record required for solidar-

ity-based entitlement;

• terms for bonus pension coverage reduced;

• mandatory insurance contributions fi xed at 10%

of wages;

• State Savings Pension Fund created;

• private pension funds stimulated;

• benefi ts such as disability benefi ts, survival ben-

efi ts, etc. qualifi ed as benefi ts to be paid out of the

pension scheme.

Many of these measures were not well-received in socie-

ty, especially removing early retirement arrangements of

many groups of workers and raising the retirement age by

three years for both men and women. This fi xed female

and male retirement at ages 58 and 63 years respectively.

These arrangements were made effective as of 1 Janu-

ary 1998 and progressively throughout the following 3

years, becoming fully effective as of 1 July 2001. At the

same time, economic development, reduced unemploy-

ment and more new jobs contributed to changing atti-

tudes among the working population towards the raised

retirement age. Trends observed in the employment are-

na indicate a growing number of working retirees. The

current unemployment rate for people aged 60-64 stands

at 4.2%, compared with the national unemployment rate

of 8.4%. Employers now have a new headache related to

the dismissal of workers of retirement age, since the Law

“On Labor in Kazakhstan” does not provide for admin-

istration-initiated dismissal of workers upon reaching

retirement age. In 2004, overall life expectancy stood at

66.2 years, 2.7 years more than in 1995, and this upward

trend is predicted to continue for the next 15 years (see

Chapter Two). Therefore, the number of working retirees

is likely to continue growing.

Increased life expectancy, a growing number of work-

ing retirees and a low pension to wage ratio form the

background for a further rise in the retirement age. This

is likely to affect women in particular, who currently re-

tire 5 years earlier than men, while having lower wages

than men. In 2004 men’s and women’s wages averaged

34,613 and 21,362 tenge respectively, with a female

to male wage ratio of 1.62. Meanwhile, many women

take unpaid childcare leave of up to 3 years, according

to the Law “On Labor in Kazakhstan”. Moreover, cur-

rent and predicted female life expectancy remains sig-

nifi cantly greater than for men. The female to male life

expectancy ratio appears to be falling, but very slowly.

Therefore, women are likely to have much lower pen-

sion savings compared to men and will, consequently,

have lower pensions to be paid from the savings-based

pension scheme, which will completely replace the soli-

darity based scheme by the end 2030, as estimated by

the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection. A simple

calculation shows that with a wage of US$300 per month

and 25 years of employment, a woman will receive a

monthly pension worth no more than US$35 for a period

of 19 years. In contrast, with a wage of US$350 earned

for 35 years a man will have a pension of at least US$45

for the same period after retirement.

Pension savings are also problematic for other groups,

including:

• self-employed people such as kiosk workers,

drivers using their own vehicles, freelance con-

sultants, etc. Many of these are contractors and

do not have any legal labor relations with their

employers;

• Farmers and family members employed on their

farms;

• People with no formal income, such as the un-

employed, housewives, mothers of large families,

NGO volunteers, etc.;

• Students studying for a long period of time and

not working;

• Workers whose employers fail to pay pension

contributions either in full or regularly;

• People whose pension contributions were inaccu-

rately calculated.

Unfortunately, there are no offi cial statistics on the pro-

portion or number of people not participating in sav-

ings-based pension schemes. In this context, future pen-

sions to be paid to these groups will be a real burden for

taxpayers, who will have to pay social taxes to provide

for targeted benefi ts and other social assistance benefi ts.

The government will pay such benefi ts in the long term

as the population not participating in the savings-based

pension scheme gets older.

Nearly all of the above-listed groups make no contribu-

tions to savings funds. Most of them simply evade such

payments, although they have individual social codes

and are aware of the mandatory nature of pension con-

tributions. They will eventually get out of the savings-

based pension scheme and will only receive basic pen-

sions when they retire, as specifi ed in the pension law.

In addition to basic pensions, people with employment

records dated before 1 January 1998 will get pensions

from the solidarity based scheme, proportionate to their

employment record.

Sustainable and profi table pension savings funds are an

important factor in ensuring effective pension security.

As the population ages, more people will be entitled to

both pension schemes, while their welfare will depend

on the effectiveness of pension funds and pension sav-

ings investments.

As of 1 March 2005, there was 1 state and 12 private pen-

sion savings funds, with 72 branches and 73 representa-

tive offi ces operating in Kazakhstan. People are free to

choose to deposit their pension savings in any one of

these. There are 7.1 million mandatory pension deposi-

tors, which is 97% of the employed population. How-

ever, less than a half of them make pension contributions

on a regular basis. At the same time, 30,000 people are


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voluntary contributors and around 3,000 depositors are

voluntary professional pension contributors.

As well as being reliable, pension funds must also be

profi table, which depends on a number of factors, includ-

ing fund management effectiveness. It is most important

for pension savings funds to invest pension assets ef-

fectively. There must be reliable pension asset use tools,

since future dividends will be built on both the amount

of contributions and the economic situation, effective-

ness of pension funds and companies managing pension

assets. The mechanism of pension contributions should

be further developed. Moreover, current customers of

pension funds are mainly working people. However, as

the solidarity scheme is replaced by the savings scheme

and the population gets older and life expectancy grows,

this situation will change and may affect returns on pen-

sion funds.

At present, the government amends the pension law on

a regular basis and the above indicated limits may be

revised in the future.

Lack of offi cial statistics makes it diffi cult to determine

average, highest and lowest pension savings. However,

it is known that there are signifi cant disparities in pen-

sion amounts accumulated by different scheme partici-

pants of the same age. Such amounts are built on nomi-

nal wages, regularity of contribution and effectiveness

of the pension fund chosen. As the population ages, such

disparities are likely to grow.

When retired, citizens of Kazakhstan can apply for a sol-

idarity-based pension based on their employment record

and withdraw the accrued pension savings. During the

initial period of the savings-based pension scheme, the

accrued savings were paid all at once, since amounts

were small. This strengthened public confi dence in the

new pension scheme. Today, retirees entitled to pensions

receive pre-taxed 100,000 or after-tax 95,000 tenge an-

nually for as many years as savings allow. In this context,

retirees with pension savings are in a better position than

retirees with an earlier assigned pension because 7,900

tenge resulting from 95,000 tenge divided by 12 months

is a good pension supplement. With an estimated pen-

sion of 12,000 tenge, aggregate pensions can be as high

as 20,000 tenge per month, which is over 3.5 times more

than the subsistence minimum. Participants of the sav-

ings-based pension scheme have more chance of receiv-

ing pension supplements, since the supplement period

and amounts grow as wages increase. Therefore, pension

supplements will be bigger than assigned pensions. It is

expected that in future the supplement payment will be

paid on a monthly rather than one-off basis, based on the

estimated survival rate. Much is being done in this area

and the situation may well change in future.

It should also be noted that people reaching retirement

age now and in the near future without any pension sav-

ings are and will remain more disadvantaged than those

with pension savings. Even those among them with small

pension savings, for example, 200,000 tenge, which is

worth two annual tranches, will be affected by the lack

of pension benefi ts as early as two years after retirement.

In the long run, as the population gets older and workers

with increasingly insignifi cant employment records reg-

istered during the solidarity system retire, disparities in pensions will grow. In this context, there will be greater

disparities in the pensions paid out of the savings-based

scheme with fairly level pensions paid out of the solidar-

ity-based scheme.

In recent years employers have started to make pen-

sion contributions for their employees. This trend will

develop further as the economy and social partnerships

develop and attitudes towards the professional capacity

of each employee evolve. Professional pension schemes

established within individual entities or sectors, as well

as personal pension savings deposited in pension funds

and insurance companies constitute the so-called non-

state pensions sector.

When concluding collective agreements and/or other

employer’s documents, many large entities provide for

one-time benefi ts to be paid to employees who are about

to retire. For example, the collective agreements of JSC

Kazakhtelecom provide for a one-time benefi t equiva-

lent to three average monthly wages on retirement of the

employee. JSC Kazakhstan Temir Zholy has decided to

allow engine drivers and assistant engine drivers to retire

at age 59 with pensions to be provided by the JSC. Some

other organizations such as JSC Bakhus provide quar-

terly benefi ts worth 3,000 tenge and food packages to be

given to retiring employees.

Thus, meeting the needs of future retirees is challenging

both at the level of individual pension savings companies

and the state pension scheme as a whole. The majority

of people consider pension deductions as some form of

extra tax. Therefore, people with no formal labor ties are

not eager to become “engaged” in pension schemes. On

the other hand, effective management of pension savings

and the stability of the pension scheme will affect the

majority of working people and all citizens eventually.

This may cause additional challenges as the population

ages.

CONCLUSIONS

Poverty can be reduced by facilitating both the develop-

ment of the country as a whole and the self-fulfi llment

of each person. Tackling poverty entails a number of

factors, such as sustainable economic growth, better em-

ployment opportunities, effective social policies, sound

public administration and developed democratic institu-

tions. In order to reduce poverty it is essential to develop

and implement national poverty reduction strategies that

take into account, fi rst and foremost, the interests of the

poor - many of whom are older people.

Insert 2.4.“Kazakhstan is a beacon for other CIS states, since it pio-

neered the pension reform and, accordingly, can be a model

of a smooth shift from a solidarity to a savings based pension

scheme. At the same time, pension funds should be looked at

in the long run, since current contributors with a median age

of 40 will retire in about 20 years. It is only then that we will

be able to assess the success of Kazakhstan’s savings-based

pension scheme”.

Chris de Coning, regional director, ABN AMRO Asset Management for Cen-tral and Eastern Europe (as reported by Kazakhstan Today)


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In the future the prevalence of older people compared

to other age groups will also affect the consumer mar-

ket in terms of provision of food and non-food products

for older people. At the same time, it should be born in

mind that older people’s fi nancial resources are limited

and that the commodity market will need to be devel-

oped in a particular way in order to meet the needs of the

elderly. However, provided the correct market research

strategies are used, this situation can have benefi ts. Such

economic sectors as light and food industries should ca-

ter for an older age demand.

Infrastructure tailored to the needs of older people should

be developed and made more user-friendly, although

this will require considerable investment. Also, systems

should be put in place to encourage employees of local

municipal organizations to provide home care services

for lonely older people such as buying food, cleaning

and basic medical assistance.

Population ageing necessitates better solidarity and sav-

ings based pension schemes. Pensions paid out of the

solidarity based scheme should be raised in proportion

to increasing consumer prices.

In order to protect pension savings, pension asset invest-

ment tools should be used more widely and the fi nancial

sustainability and reliability of entities constituting the

savings based pension scheme ensured.

The pension annuity market should be developed to en-

courage married couples to purchase annuities, which

will entail monthly payments worth at least the mini-

mum pension to be paid from the savings-based pension

scheme.

Currently, the government is considering increasing the

tax-free pension to a minimum pension and providing

state funding of mandatory pension contributions for

female workers on maternity or under-three childcare

leave.

Regarding voluntary savings-based pensions, voluntary

and professional pension schemes should be encouraged

and voluntary professional pension contributions made

to workers, including those of government-funded or-

ganizations, whose professions are on the Register of

Professions.

It is expected that the government will remain the prin-

cipal source of funding for social security schemes and

ensuring timely and adequate social benefi ts. This will

change gradually as the government withdraws and

mechanisms of social insurance are made more effec-

tive. Meanwhile, growing differentiation of pensions

and the need for preventative measures to ensure social

stability should be emphasized.


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LABOR MARKET, EM-PLOYMENT AND OLDER PEOPLE

CHAPTER 3


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3.1. LABOR MARKET AND GENDER DIMENSIONS OF EMPLOYMENT

As mentioned in the previous chapter, employment is

one of the major causes of poverty. Poverty and labor

are closely interlinked because labor is the main source

of income for people.

Transition to a market economy caused some signifi cant

changes on the labor market both within sectors and in

terms of labor status.

In 1995-1999 the proportion of the employed popula-

tion was declined steadily, while since 2000 it has been

increasing consistently. Overall, over the last decade the

employment rate reached 91.6%, marking a 9.6% in-

crease and totaling 7.2 million employed people in 2004,

which is 630,300 more than in 1995. The economic ac-

tivity rate - the ratio of economically active population to

the overall population - was 69.9%. This means that only

70% of the population were economically active and

30% inactive. In the overall economically active popula-

tion women accounted for 3.8 million people (49%).

Table 3.1 Main labor market indicators in Kaza-khstan

2001 2002 2003 2004Economically active population,

thousands 7479,1 7399,7 7657,3 7840,6

Economic activity rate, % 70,2 70,1 70,0 69,9

Employed population, thousands 6698,8 6708,9 6985,2 7181,8

Employment rate, % 89,6 90,7 91,2 91,6

Economically inactive population,

thousands3175,8 3155,3 3278,6 3383,4

Economic inactivity rate, % 29,8 29,9 30,0 30,1

Economically inactive population

because of retirement, thousands1584,2 1565,6 1461,9 1425,1

Proportion of retired people out of

economically inactive population, %49,9 49,6 44,6 42,1

Source: Republic of Kazakhstan: 2005 (brief statistical reference). Almaty, 2005

The employed population is relatively young. The medi-

an age of employed people is 37 years, i.e. people at ages

25-34 accounted for the bulk of the employed population

(29.15%), while young people aged 15-24 made up 16%

of those in employment. One in three employed people

had secondary and higher education, while one in four

had vocational education.

The larger proportion of the economically inactive popu-

lation consists of retirees (42.1%) and full-time students

(37.2%) as well as disabled people (7.4%) and home-

makers (5.2%). Women and youths aged 16-29 remain

the most vulnerable groups on the labor market.

Self-employment is common in Kazakhstan, with a

steadily growing proportion of self-employed. In 1995

hired employees accounted for 83.4% and self-em-

ployed people for 16.6% of the employed population,

but by 2004 these proportions had changed to 62.2% and

37.8% respectively.

This trend poses a risk of increasing social disadvan-

taged because the self-employed are usually not part of

the social security scheme or social funds, either as users

or contributors.

There are more self-employed women than men. In

2004 self-employed women accounted for 42.3% of

female workers, while self-employed men made up

36.8% of male workers. The rural employed popula-

tion exceeds the urban by over 2 times. Self-employed

women account for 59.2% and 25.3% of rural and

urban female workers, while self-employed men for

51.5% and 22.8% of rural and urban male workers, re-

spectively. Self-employed women tend to work in such

sectors as clothes and food sales, public catering and

agriculture.

Women have less access to resources required for busi-

ness activities, therefore they are mostly employed in

small businesses, often in the informal sector which

does not generate as much income as generated by

men, who are more engaged in large and profi table

businesses.

Figure 3.1


The limited access of women to capital, fi nancial resourc-

es and information has largely affected rural women: only

10% of farms in Kazakhstan are headed by women, who

own only 2.9% of agricultural land resources and these

Insert 3.1Self-employment means employment in which remuneration

directly depends on income generated through production of

goods and services where personal consumption is consid-

ered part of the income.

According to the International Classifi cation of Employment

Status, the self-employed fall into the following three cat-

egories:

Employers are individuals running a business or otherwise

engaged in entrepreneurship with one or more hired employ-

ees.

Self-employed people are individuals working either inde-

pendently or with one or more partners and engaged in activ-

ity on a self-employment basis without hiring employees for

permanent employment.

Unpaid family workers are individuals who generally are em-

ployed in an enterprise (or household) managed by a relative,

and are not paid.

Members of production cooperatives are individuals who are

members of a labor cooperative engaged in entrepreneurial

activities.


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are less productive in terms of capacity, size and loca-

tion, due to women’s limited access to loan and credit

resources. Rural women do not have liquid property to

be used as collateral, making it more diffi cult for them to

set up farms and making their businesses less effective

as compared with those of men.

The economic capabilities of women and men are also

largely determined by professional gender segregation.

Horizontal professional segregation refers to uneven

distribution of men and women within sectors and oc-

cupations. The majority а female workers are employed

in low-paid sectors such as education (75.3% of the to-

tal), healthcare and social services (79.2%), hotels and

restaurants (68.8%). In contrast, most male workers are

employed in public administration (77.4)%, construc-

tion (82.7%), manufacturing (69.1%), electricity, gas

and water production and distribution (72.3%) and real

estate (60.8%).

The gender imbalance in employment, quality of jobs,

labor conditions, professional careers, income and so-

cial security has, to a large extent, been a result of di-

rect foreign investment in Kazakhstan’s economy. Thus,

46% of resources were invested in the oil and gas sec-

tor which traditionally employs more men, with only

10% invested in industries, half of which was invested

in metallurgy. Thus, a male workforce predominates in

sectors with highest income-generation potential, while

such sectors as light and food industries, which tend to

employ women, are less profi table and tend to develop

at a slower rate.

Rapid development of extraction, the real estate sector

and fi nancial markets has been more advantageous, fi rst

of all, for men in terms of new jobs and better income,

while the status of women on the labor market has re-

mained almost unchanged. Women’s access to economic

resources is still limited.

Vertical segregation means unequal hierarchical distri-

bution of women and men. In Kazakhstan this is dem-

onstrated by the fact that men account for 76% of senior

offi cials and their deputies in local authorities. Women

are more represented in middle management and there

are far fewer women than men holding senior positions.

Thus, the proportion of parliamentary seats held by

women is only 9.6%. This places Kazakhstan 85 out of

128 in the world, which is lower than the average indica-

tor for both European countries and African, Asian and

Pacifi c countries. In the context of democracy, more or

less equal representation of women and men in govern-

ment authorities and in parliament in particular helps to

lobby and fi nd adequate solutions to many issues con-

cerned with gender inequality.

Figure 3.2. Men and women in the Parliament of Ka-zakhstan

data provided by the Inter-parliamentary Union, April 2005. Visit http://www.ipu.org

Kazakhstan still has much to do to ensure equal rights

for men and women in terms of social participation. In

particular, greater representation of women in public ad-

ministration would help to better address many gender-

related social and economic concerns of different popu-

lation groups.

Table 3.2. Population by economic activity status and age, numbers of people

Total

Economic activity status

Economically active

Including of whichEconomically

inactiveEmployed Looking for another or

additional job Unemployed

Total population 11223954 7840554 7181755 540607 658799 3383400Including people aged

60–64 438112 150565 144294 2471 6271 287547

65–69 506277 81272 81272 – – 425005

70 and older 627177 26302 26302 – – 600875

Men60–64 175572 89079 84251 2442 4828 86493

65–69 212586 41482 41482 – – 171104

70 and older 197928 11790 11790 – – 186138

women60–64 262540 61486 60043 29 1443 201054

65–69 293691 39790 39790 – – 253901

70 and older 429249 14512 14512 – – 414737

Source: Statistical Yearbook of Kazakhstan, Almaty, 2005


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Feminization of employment, i.e. increasing the propor-

tion of employed women, tends to result in women being

relegated to low-paid, unproductive and unstable jobs. The

processes of female integration and marginalization go

hand in hand. A cheap and mobile female workforce is per-

ceived as a natural and expanding resource. Less income

for and social achievements of women is determined by the

fact that by having babies and therefore leaving the labor

market for certain periods of time, young women lose their

qualifi cations and skills and miss promotion opportunities.

3.2 EMPLOYMENT OF OLDER PEOPLE IN KAZAKHSTAN

In 2004 the share of people aged 60+ in the overall popu-

lation aged over 15 was 14%, with 11% and 16.6% of

them being men and women respectively. People aged

60 and older accounted for 3.5% of the employed popu-

lation, including 3.7% men and 3.2% women.

The share of employed older people in the overall popu-

lation aged 60+ was 16.%. Some 23.5% of older men

and 11.6% of older women in the overall male and fe-

male populations aged 60+ were employed.

Over half (54.7%) of people aged 60 and more are eco-

nomically active (Figure 3.2). The female economic activ-

ity rate is 23.4% in the age group of 60-64, 13.5% at ages

65-69 and 3.4% at ages 70+. The male economic activity

rate is higher in all age groups. Thus, 50.7% of men aged

60-64 are economically active, 19.5% at ages 65-69 and

6% at ages 70+. There are fewer older women than men

employed in public production. Both female and male

employment rates decrease in the older age groups.

Despite the fact that the percentage of employed older women

versus men is lower, the numbers of employed older women

and men differ insignifi cantly, due to the fact that in the older

age groups women outnumber men by 1.5 times.

The share of the employed rural population aged 65+ fell

from 2.8% in 2002 to 2.0% in 2004. Urban people of this

age group are less economically active, at 2.2% in 2002

and 1.1% in 2004.

The greatest proportion of employed older people in Ka-

zakhstan is registered in Karagandy oblast: 20,100 peo-

ple in 2002 and 12,300 people in 2004, which was 3.6%

and 2.2% of the total oblast population respectively. In

Kostanai oblast there were 11,900 and 8,500 employed

older people in 2002 and 2004 accounting for 4.6% and

3.1% of the overall oblast population.

The proportion of employed older people declined most

noticeably in Almaty, from 10,200 people (2.0%) in

2002 to 2,100 people (0.4%) in 200441.

Against a background of a falling share of employed old-

er population throughout Kazakhstan, it is noteworthy

that the only oblast where the proportion of employed

older people has been increasing, although only slightly,

is North Kazakhstan – 4,400 people in 2002 (3.7%) ris-

ing to 4,600 (4.0%) in 2004.

Rural employment in old age is higher than that of the

urban elderly due to seasonal agricultural activity that

provides extra income for agricultural households and

ensures extra employment in old age. In rural areas job

opportunities for the young are limited and many young

people move to towns and cities seeking work, thus re-

ducing the rural population and increasing the share of

the elderly in the rural workforce.

Working in public households and on personal land plots

brings some income that helps compensate for low pen-

sion benefi ts provided to the rural elderly. Certain differ-

ences between the pension benefi ts of rural and urban reti-

rees may be attributed to the fact that pension amounts are

calculated according to payment for the work done by the

rural population and this is less than urban wages.

The level of poverty in urban areas is lower than in rural

areas, which can be attributed to higher incomes and bet-

ter education of the urban population. Urban retirees are

generally better educated and have more opportunities

to fi nd jobs that do not require physical strength but rely

more on knowledge and skills.

3.3. ECONOMICALLY ACTIVE POPULATION AND INVOLVEMENT OF THE RETIRED POPULATION IN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT IN THE CIS

Improvement in socio-economic spheres over recent

years in most CIS countries has helped create a better

situation on the labor market, with unemployment rates

starting to decline while vacancy and employment rates

started to increase between 2003 and 2004.

In 2004 the economically active population (employed

and unemployed) in CIS in general was estimated to be

128 million people, while the economic activity rate in

these countries was approximately 50%, which com-

pares well with the economic activity rates of Austria,

Great Britain, Germany, Canada, USA, Japan and other

developed countries.

41 Economic activity of Kazakhstani population by region. 1995-2004.

Statistical book. Almaty, 2005.

Insert 3.2.Employment in retirement In different countries of the world factors motivating retirees

to continue working are studied to defi ne the forms of so-

cial security aimed at meeting the needs of older people. In

developing countries retirees keep working mainly because

their pension benefi ts do not meet their basic needs, while in

a developed country like the USA, for example, the number

of either women or men aged over 65 who keep working has

increased in recent years. Moreover, the USA is planning

to increase the retirement age to 67 by 2020. This decision

will be implemented over 25 years, as the US government

believes that social change should be gradual.

Motivation aimed at successful working activity and social

recognition very often becomes more powerful at retirement

age. Therefore, career guidance, professional retraining and

seeking a job for people at preretirement age should be in-

cluded in social services for the elderly. Such services will

help to slow down ageing rates, maintain workforce size and

restore the working capacity of the elderly.

* Irina Grigoryeva. SOCIAL SERVICES FOR THE ELDERLY AND COM-MUNITY DEVELOPMENT: IS WESTERN EXPERIENCE APPLICABLE IN RUSSIA? http://www.strana-oz.ru/?numid=24&article=1069


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The number of non-hired workers (employers and oth-

er self-employed people) in Kazakhstan changed little

from the 37.6% recorded in 2003 to 37.5 of the total em-

ployed recorded in 2004, while in Moldova it changed

from 32.5% to 32.2%, in Russia from 6.5% to 7%, and

in the Ukraine from 12% in 2002 to 12.4% in 2003. The

percentage between retirees and the able-bodied popula-

tion and economically active population in CIS countries

is shown in Table 3.3. In most countries the number of

retirees decreased by 1-5% against the employed popu-

lation. In Belarus it did not change, while in Azerbaijan

and Armenia it increased by 1% and 11% respectively.

In 2003 in Kazakhstan the ratio of retirees to able-bod-

ied population totaled 17.6% and 24% compared with the

economically active population, which is considerably

lower than in such countries as Russia, Ukraine, Belarus

and higher than in Azerbaijan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan.

A considerable number of retirees continue to work.

For example, in accordance with a survey by the Rus-

sian State Statistical Committee at the end of 2002, 4.1

million retirees (14% of total retirees or 6% of those in-

volved in economy) were still working; besides, 445,000

retirees (or 1.5% of all retirees) were seeking a job. Ac-

cording to surveys of the workforce in Ukraine in 2002

retirees made up 7.7% of the employed population aged

15-70, with another 13,000 retirees seeking work.

3.4 EMPLOYMENT OF OLDER PEOPLE IN THE WORLD

Certain features of employment in old age vary slightly

in different countries of the world. In virtually all coun-

tries the elderly make up a minority of the economically

employed. Their share in the total employed varies be-

tween 1% and 7% (An ageing world: 2003. International

population reports). The second common feature is the

age of the employed elderly – they retire at the retire-

ment age and the older they are the less their role in

the active population. The third feature common for all

countries is that the level of participation of elderly men

is higher than that of elderly women.

Interesting disparities in the level of employment in old

age are discovered when surveying the development rates

of the countries. Thus, the employment level of the elderly

population is varies by country: it is lower in the devel-

oped compared with the developing world. In some de-

veloped countries only 2% of men aged 65 and over are

involved in the labor market, while in some developing

countries more than a half of the elderly men are economi-

cally active (An aging world: 2003. International popu-

lation reports). Considerable differences in the activity

levels of labor resources on a global scale are connected

with public welfare: countries with high Gross Domestic

Product have lower levels of participation of the elderly

in the work force. In developed countries the elderly may

plan for a decent life by making pension contributions and

relying on the system for social insurance, while in poorer

countries these systems, due to their weak development,

often fail to provide a decent life for the elderly who have

to stay on the labor market longer to get extra income.

In developing countries the elderly population - the majority

of whom are women - make up the main share of the poor

population who receive little care and external fi nancial sup-

port. These countries have small institutional and economic

resources to meet the elderly’s needs and there is a need to

establish economic and social policies to meet these needs.

These are the reasons for the considerable decline in elderly

men’s employment level in developed countries: social insur-

ance improvements and changes in production organization,

as well as the nature of employment as new technologies are

introduced meaning that some elderly people prefer to retire

rather than try to learn new skills. In countries with high un-

employment, formal and informal pressure on the elderly

to leave to make way for younger and more promising staff

may be an additional reason for leaving the labor market.

As mentioned earlier, elderly employment in Kazakhstan is

not as high as that of developing countries but signifi cantly

higher than in developed countries. In Kazakhstan there is a

trend that is common for all countries: falling employment

levels of the older population in older age groups, while this

trend is even more evident among women.

3.5 THE INFORMAL ECONOMY AND INCOME IN OLD AGE

The economic crisis of the 1990s in Kazakhstan caused

dismissals and the shutdown of most enterprises and

negatively affected the living conditions of the major-

ity of the population. Pension and social benefi ts did not

meet even basic needs of the elderly and other groups

covered by the social security system.

People who lost their permanent jobs, the elderly and

groups entitled to social benefi ts allocated from the state

budget suffered dramatically: until 1998 the average

pension was lower than the subsistence minimum. That

amount increased slightly over the next two years and

became a bit higher than the subsistence minimum. Be-

tween 1996 and 2000 the proportion of the elderly varied

between 53% and 40% of the total poor population.

A considerable proportion of the population - a half of which

was the elderly - became involved in the production and sale

of articles and services that were manufactured in households

or informal enterprises, including illegal articles.

In 1999 the self-employed made up 45.1% of the total able-

bodied population. Growth of the able-bodied population

that remained uninvolved in the organized economy led to

an expansion of the informal or ‘shadow’ economy.

Figure 3.3. Trends in the share of informal economy in GDP, Kazakhstan, 1990-2004, % of GDP



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In 1997 the share of the informal economic sector made

up no less than 37.9% of Gross Domestic Product, hav-

ing increased three times in comparison with 1990. It has

since declined to a fi gure of 21% in 2004 – still a fi fth of

economic activity.

The informal economic sector is defi ned as a combi-

nation of small economic units and economic activity

taken by household entities and individuals. Such terms

as “informal”, “shadow” and “noncontrolled” economy

are often interpreted as the same but they are not iden-

tical. Any non-registered and subsequently non-taxable

economic activity, including a criminal one (smuggling,

drug sale, prostitution etc) and non-registered activity

of large and middle sized entities is referred to as the

shadow economy. The informal sector includes the self-

employed population and those hired by entities of the

informal sector or private individuals. However, the in-

formal sector does not include people engaged in prohib-

ited activities or unregistered people working for entities

of the formal sector.

The proportion of the self-employed population increased

four times from 1991 to 1995 and totaled 1,085,000 peo-

ple. In 1995 the unemployment rate (estimated regard-

less of the self-employed population) stood at 11%. In

general, between 1991 and 1995 27.7% of the economi-

cally active population was working outside organized

production. This caused progressive growth of poverty

and the production of goods and services in household

conditions.

As state pension provision for the elderly deteriorated

the elderly started to manufacture articles on farmland

and smallholdings, to let their apartments, to sell home-

made articles and articles manufactured in the uncon-

trolled economic sector, including the common sale of

spirits, food, tobacco and garments.

Labor resources for non-organized business constituted

nationals who had lost their jobs in the organized econo-

my and had shifted to self-employment, plus the elderly,

whose pensions below the value of the consumer basket.

Shifting to self-employment as an attempt to survive in

a poor labor market mainly involves working in the in-

formal economy, which rarely corresponds to the educa-

tion level and qualifi cations of the worker. Subsequently,

involvement in the informal economy is accompanied by

considerable social risks.

When describing the life of the elderly in Kazakhstan

during the economic crisis and signifi cant decline of

payments it is worth noting that due to the mentality of

the younger Kazakhs and others their elderly parents

were generally taken care of.

After the economic crisis period the employment rate

started to increase and poverty to decline due to devel-

opment of small entrepreneurship (Figure 3.4.). During

times of tough macroeconomic policies the poverty situ-

ation had started to get worse. It affected the living con-

ditions of the rural population, retirees and other socially

disadvantaged groups in the most negative way.

It would be wrong to accept pension benefi ts provided by

the state as the sole living standard of the elderly of Ka-

zakhstan. Throughout their lives these people acquired

personal assets and real estate that in the new economic

conditions became important factors in the retirees’ eve-

ryday economic security.

The majority of the elderly had their own accommo-

dation or lived with their employed children. Moreo-

ver, most urban retirees had country land plots and

orchards.

Healthcare and transportation in cities and towns was

provided to the elderly for free or at a discount.

In rural areas most retirees were in charge of their

families and had their own houses, livestock, poultry,

plots of land adjacent to houses, agricultural tools and

vehicles.

Another group of the elderly who did not have coun-

try land plots or land adjacent to houses and who lived

in apartments on their own had to adapt to the crisis

period. Many started to live in the same apartment and

to let their free apartments or to sell their apartments

for offi ces and small enterprises.

3.6 CREDIT POLICIES: OPPORTUNITIES FOR THE ELDERLY

Access to fi nancial services like credit, saving and

insurance, along with access to the main socio-eco-

nomic resources and political freedom is one of the

main indicators of a society’s development.

Development of fi nancial institutions and their con-

ditions often involves limited access of low-income

groups to these services due to minor or no guarantees

ensuring credit and interest repayments.

Widespread access to fi nancial services and their pro-

vision to the low-income population is the most pow-

erful tool for eradicating poverty by expanding oppor-

tunities for each member of society and thus reducing

the vulnerability of all marginal groups.

In terms of socio-economic development the Kaza-

khstan government has described assistance to the

low-income population as the priority target. One of

the most effi cient methods in achieving this is devel-

opment of small enterprises and one of the key com-

ponents is the availability of microcredit for individ-

ual entrepreneurs.

Creation and development of the system providing

credit to the population started with adoption of the

law on Banks and Bank Activity in the mid-90s, while

development of microfi nancing was promoted after

adoption of the law on Credit Enterprises and Micro-

credit Organizations.

The need to overcome most of the economic problems

faced during the transition period brought signifi cant

growth in the use of microcredit by households, and

Insert 3.3.Informal sector entities are entities owned by households or

non-corporate entities owned by households that produce

goods and services without a legal identity of their own.


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by 2004 there were 50,600 credit recipients. Devel-

opment of these fi nancial services is possible as en-

terprises of the formal and informal economic sector,

households and the unemployed may become its cli-

ents. However the above fi gure equals only 2% of the

poor population and more active development of these

fi nancial services is clearly necessary.

Microcrediting is an effi cient instrument for enterprise

development, particularly for women. Women are faced

with more problems when opening or extending their own

business due to their traditional social roles such as mater-

nity and housekeeping. At the same time their high level

of education and sense of responsibility means that they

demonstrate a higher level of credit repayment than men.

In spite of active participation of associations to support

women and development of female entrepreneurship,

women’s participation in credits is still insuffi cient.

Individual credit rules provide for an average interest

rate varying from 3 to 7%, collection of rates fi xed under

Figurey, credit repayment security or guarantees made

by third parties.

Not all elderly people may apply for microcrediting to

solve their economic problems because the conditions

on which individual credits are granted may not be ac-

ceptable to them. By establishing more fl exible and pref-

erential credit conditions for the elderly the government

may extend opportunities for the elderly to improve their

own living conditions.

Extension of opportunities and improvement of credit

conditions for elderly households could promote im-

provement of living conditions. Creation of such condi-

tions for the solution of economic household problems

when two or three generations live together, besides

improvement of the elderly’s living conditions, could

strengthen family relations as a whole and could pro-

mote further development of intergenerational relations

by economic confi rmation of the importance of intergen-

erational values.

3.7 MIGRATION PROCESSES

Migration processes and their different aspects are im-

portant in terms of the ageing process:

• the capacity for socio-political and economic ad-

aptation of elderly immigrants and pressure on

the socio-political and economic system of the

country;

• the demographic and professional structure of the

migrating population and changes in the size of

the able-bodied population caused by migration

processes.

Two aspects are noteworthy: emigration/immigration

of the elderly from/to Kazakhstan and the ageing of mi-

grants.

In the 1990s Kazakhstan faced problems common for

all post-Soviet transition countries: high unemploy-

ment rate, absence of perspectives for job placement

and a high emigration rate. From 1991, when Kaza-

khstan was declared independent and at the starting

point of the market economy, a high migration rate

became one of the country’s defi ning socio-political

and economic issues.

Some 1,209,814 people emigrated from Kazakhstan

between 1995 and 2005. According to surveys, the

main reason for emigration was economic crisis, na-

tional policy and ethnocultural reasons42. Most sig-

nifi cant losses of population from emigration were

detected in northern Kazakhstan where the majority

of the population came from Russia, Ukraine and Be-

larus. The infl uence of the ethnic factor on migration

process can still be seen today (see table 3.4).

Table 3.4. International migrants by ethnic origin (people)

Migration bal-ance Immigrants Emigrants

2004 2003 2004 2003 2004 2003All ethnic groups +3381 –9062 69166 65308 65785 74370

Of which:

Kazakhs +44338 +34599 47779 39001 3441 4402

Russians –26708 –26132 12528 15182 39236 41314

Ukrainians –3772 –3940 1397 1823 5169 5763

Uzbeks +631 +795 853 1100 222 305

Tatars –603 –622 829 1006 1432 1628

Germans –10916 –14629 903 1110 11819 15739

Uigurs +158 +192 224 239 66 47

Other ethnic groups +227 +566 4594 5717 4367 5151

Ethnicity not specifi ed +26 +109 59 130 33 21

Source: data provided by the RK Statistics Agency .

In the 1990s poor social policy, particularly in pension

provision and healthcare, was an important factor that

infl uenced migration of the elderly from Kazakhstan.

The ageing structure of emigration over the last 6 years

is shown in Table 3.2. As a rule, the able-bodied popu-

lation made up the major share of emigrants (63-65%)

but since 1999 the share of emigrants aged over 65 in-

creased from 6.9% in 1999 to 9.4% in 2004, the majority

of whom were parents of emigrants of working age who

had left earlier and found a job abroad.

Table 3.5. Emigrants and immigrants by age (people)Age (years) 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004

immigrants0–15 7 194 10 676 10 308 10 689 12 472 13 851

16–62 (57)* 29 480 32 707 39 096 43 645 48 666 50 167

63 (58)* and older 4 646 4 059 4 144 3 877 4 437 4 301

emigrants0–15 34 322 28 426 25 120 20 053 11 866 10 108

16–62 (57)* 111 190 105 902 97 038 84 863 52 991 47 050

63 (58)* and older 11 346 21 421 19 552 15 307 9 033 8 372

balance0–15 –26 284 –17 750 –14 812 –9 364 +606 +3 743

16–62 (57)* –81 555 –73 195 –57 942 –41 218 –4 316 +3 117

63 (58)* and older –17 788 –17 362 –15 408 –11 430 –4 596 –4 071

* female age in brackets

Source: data provided by the RK Statistics Agency

In recent years external migration has changed dramati-

cally. In 1998 the emigration rate started to decline stead-

42 Lebedeva N.M. New Russian Diaspore. Socio-psychological profi le. - M.,

1995. Migration and New Diaspores in the Post-Soviet States / Edited by

V.А. Tishkov. Moscow, 1996; Migration of Russian-Speaking Population

from Central Asia: causes, implications and prospects / Edited by G.

Vitkovskaya. Moscow: Moscow Karnegie Center, 1996.


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ily. Besides, in 1998 the number of immigrants started to

increase. Currently there appears to be a sustained trend

to eradicate the gap between emigration and immigra-

tion rates and by 2004 the migration balance had become

positive (Table 3.6.).

Table 3.6. External migration, Kazakhstan, 1999-2004 (people)

year immigrants emigrants migration balance

1999 41320 164947 –123627

2000 47442 155749 –108307

2001 53548 141710 –88162

2002 58211 120223 –62012

2003 65584 73890 –8306

2004 68319 65530 +2789

Source: data provided by the RK Statistics Agency

Dynamic economic reforms and favorable economic con-

ditions (including high oil prices) have helped stimulate

immigration: higher wages than in neighboring countries

is a signifi cant economic incentive for immigration to Ka-

zakhstan. The employment rate, different job opportuni-

ties and dynamic development of the labor market are also

important factors. A more favorable economic climate,

more developed market infrastructure, a liberal interna-

tional migration policy and a more attractive labor market

all lead to economic rather than ethnic factors becoming

the more signifi cant drivers for migration and the size of

the able-bodied population increases as a result. Thus, in

2004 73.4% of immigrants and 71.9% of emigrants were

people of working age.

Current migration processes in Kazakhstan may be di-

vided as follows:

• emigration and immigration of ethnic Kazakhs (in-

cluding Oralmans);

• emigration and immigration of other ethnic groups

(including workforce migration);

• in-country migration;

• re-emigration;

• transit of migrants;

• illegal migration (including human traffi cking).

The above groups inevitably include the elderly, although

the majority of migrants are people of working age. As

ageing of immigrants becomes an important issue, atten-

tion should be paid to the structure of people aged 40-50:

the majority of these people are working migrants.

Oralmans and working migrants coming from neighbor-

ing countries are most affected43.

Although the Law on Oralmans arriving under immi-

gration quota states that the government shall allocate

funds to purchase accommodation and lump-sum ben-

efi ts44, Oralmans point out that they are poorly advised of

how to move to Kazakhstan and how to be included in

43 Refer to: Migrants in the new capital of Kazakhstan. Almaty: International

Organization for Migration Kazakhstan, 2005. P. 5-6.

44 Governmental Decree #1194 “On Approving Statement on Target Use of

National Allocations for Oralmans” of 18 August 1999 (as amended on 28

February 2004).

the quota - as there are no written criteria it is diffi cult

for them to evaluate their chances. As a rule, Oralmans

move from poor countries and need different support:

healthcare, accommodation, language, qualifi cations etc.

Usually Oralmans are predominantly the young and the

elderly. The majority of them move from Uzbekistan,

Mongolia and Russia, with a minority from Kyrgyzstan,

China, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan. Owing to rich kin-

dred relations they tend to have relatives abroad, most of

whom are elderly as they are less mobile. It is expected

that Oralmans will be eager to bring their elderly relatives

to Kazakhstan. Before moving to Kazakhstan, Oralmans

have generally lived in rural areas.

Most of labor migrants from neighboring countries are

migrants with non-regulated status and therefore suffer

from being exploited by employers or the authorities. The

majority of immigrants are older than Oralmans, with

two-thirds aged 25-54. Usually, before moving to Kaza-

khstan immigrants have lived in urban areas. Demand for

immigrants is largely due to the fact that between 1991

and 2003, 2.9 million people (20% of the population) left

Kazakhstan and 65% of them were the able-bodied45. As

a large number of highly-qualifi ed people left the coun-

try a hole was left in the labor market, with a shortage of

qualifi ed people to work in industry, education and some

other fi elds. Workforce migration to Kazakhstan is also

stimulated by economic problems in Kyrgyzstan and Uz-

bekistan and post-war consequences in Tajikistan. Immi-

gration can be divided into two unequal fl ows:

• legal arrival of expatriates;

• unregulated workforce migration.

The second of these labor fl ows is far greater than the fi rst.

11,800 immigrants are licensed while unregulated work-

force immigration is estimated to involve from 200,000 to

500,000 people46.

In-country migrants are mainly people aged 25-39

(43.5%) and 15-24 (30.6%). In-country migration in Ka-

zakhstan is has two main reasons:

• general pattern of extension of modern economic

sectors (industry, municipal construction, serv-

ices) at the cost of traditional (agricultural) sec-

tors where labor productivity is low and therefore

poorly paid;

• great mobility of the urban population and their

readiness for external migration.

The main reason for migration from rural to urban areas

is income inequality and subsequently the majority of

in-country migrants are able-bodied people. Due to the

introduction of new agricultural technologies, reduced

agricultural employment and demand for rural labor will

become the main reasons for in-country migration. Cur-

rently, more than 35% of the able-bodied population are

45 Sadovskaya Е.Yu. Labor Migration in Central Asia: Causes and Socio-

Economic Implications // Migration in Central Asia: Challenges and

Prospects. Almaty: Dyke Press, 2005. P. 19. Also see: Sadovskaya Е.Yu.

Migration in Kazakhstan at the Turn of 21st Century: New Trends and

Prospects. Almaty, 2001.

46 Sadovskaya Е.Yu. Labor Migration in Central Asia: Today’s Trends.

Almaty, 2004.


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employed in agriculture, forestry and fi sheries47 although

wages in this sector are the lowest48 and there would ap-

pear to be considerable potential for more in-country mi-

gration. The most attractive places for rural migrants are

Astana, Almaty and oblast centers.

The high mobility of the urban population and their readi-

ness for external migration are the main reasons for de-

creases in the urban population from 1991 – 57.3% to

1999 – 56% despite a considerable fl ow of the rural popu-

lation into urban areas. This situation started to change

due to the declining of intensity of international migration

from 1999, and by 2004 urban areas made up 56.7% of the

country’s population.

Re-emigrants are mainly people who left Kazakhstan for

Russia in the 1990s but who have returned in the 2000s.

As a rule, in Russia they lived in the cities of Siberia and

Central Russia. They emigrated from Kazakhstan as they

wanted to change their economic and social status. Their

reasons for returning are a combination of factors depend-

ing on professional and social status. As a rule, well-edu-

cated people managed to solve their socio-economic issues

but still indicate problems of psychological adaptation.

Less-educated people faced persistent socio-economic

problems including employment and accommodation.

Transit of migrants via Kazakhstan is done mainly by peo-

ple coming from the countries of Central Asia, Afghani-

stan, China, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and other countries of

South-East Asia to Russia and the West. As a rule, this

is an illegal fl ow that is accompanied by corruption and

criminal cases.

Establishment of migration networks will affect migra-

tion processes as well. Migration networks facilitate

migration, reduce expenses and related risks. Migration

networks are of great importance for the not able-bodied

population, providing a vital support system. The creation

of migration networks will increase the elderly’s migra-

tion dramatically.

Migrants’ adaptation and socialization opportunities

should be considered when studying migration in terms

of ageing. This issue is related to such migrants’ groups as

Oralmans, immigrants and in-country migrants. In terms

of adaptation and socialization, political, economic and

cultural aspects should also be kept in mind.

Political adaptation includes interest and direct involve-

ment of migrants in the political life of the country. As

the main migration stimulus for all groups is economic,

their interest in the political life of the country is unlikely

to be high. Thus, among migrants living in the capital,

Astana, just 50.7% are interested in the political life of

the country. Immigrants are less interested in political life

(28.3%), although this index is higher among in-country

migrants (59.6%) and Oralmans (63.8%)49. The high level

of interest in political life among Oralmans may be at-

47 Economic Activity of Kazakhstan Population. Statistical reference, 1991-

2003. - Almaty: RK Statistics Agency, 2003. In developed countries 3-4%

of all employed people are employed in agriculture (3.2% in Great Britain,

3.43% in the USA, and 4.39% in Canada).

48 Remuneration in Kazakhstan. Statistical reference, 1993-2002. Almaty:

RK Statistics Agency, 2004.

49 Migrants in the new capital of Kazakhstan. Almaty: International

Organization for Migration Kazakhstan, 2005. P. 69-70.

tributed to the patriotic feelings that made them return to

Kazakhstan.

Of course the economic adaptation of migrants is more

important in terms of ageing. Regular wages, job type and

wage size may serve as its indicators. As a rule Oralmans

are less well economically adapted. A large number of un-

employed, housewives and retirees can be found among

in the Oralman population and the welfare of most Oral-

mans after arriving in Kazakhstan gets worse. A consider-

able part (around 11%) of Oralmans refer to themselves as

low-income groups when comparing their situation to that

before their move to Kazakhstan50. Pension contributions

are important for economic adaptation but unfortunately

the majority of immigrants do not make such payments.

Cultural adaptation and integration of migrants varies

among different migrant groups. The main barriers to the

adaptation of in-country migrants are obstacles of eve-

ryday life, while for immigrants and Oralmans the main

problems involve language (not suffi cient speaking skills

in Kazakh and/or Russian) and cultural barriers.

CONCLUSIONS

The growth of the elderly population may burden the fi -

nancial system of the country. This may be explained in

part by the assumption that the elderly make minor con-

tributions to economic development. However, many eld-

erly do work and it is worth studying their participation

in public production and the specifi cs of the elderly, as

this may give a clearer picture of their contributions to

the economy. This information may be useful for plan-

ning economic development and development of pension

provision.

The economic activity rate of the rural elderly population

is higher than that of the urban elderly. The apparently

higher level of involvement of the rural elderly may be

due mainly to seasonal agriculture: in rural areas elderly

women and men have more opportunities to get involved

during certain periods in agriculture and on income-gen-

erating land plots, while the youth have migrated to urban

areas seeking work.

When studying different aspects of economic security of

the elderly’s income it may be reported that city residents

have more opportunities to get extra income in compari-

son with the rural population or town residents. However,

prices for goods and services in these areas are not the

same. Although the subsistence minimum has different

values in different areas, this value is closely connected

with prevailing consumer prices and accommodation

terms.

These are the economic aspects of employment of the

elderly:

• income additional to pension benefi ts that provides

increased income in rural or urban areas;

• fi nancial independence from the family and expan-

sion of consumer supply;

50 Migrants in the new capital of Kazakhstan. Almaty: International

Organization for Migration Kazakhstan, 2005. P. 89.


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• assistance to relatives and family (particular for

the rural elderly);

• shifting of elderly workers to less functionally im-

portant positions, taking into account their profes-

sional mobility.

These are the social aspects of the elderly’s employment:

• education level (particularly of the urban elderly)

that they built up throughout their lives and that al-

lows this group to take part in public production;

• good state of health for involvement in activities

that do not require physical pressure;

• accumulating scientifi c potential that allow em-

ployees, especially those involved in education

and scientifi c research, to be in demand in this

fi eld where the wage is not suffi cient to attract the

young generation;

• involvement of the elderly in such fi elds as educa-

tion, science and trade – work that does not require

physical stress, unlike much industrial production.

Involvement of the elderly (in most cases the elderly were

forced to fi nd a job) refl ects positive sides of this phenom-

enon. As mentioned earlier, this phenomenon is wide-

spread worldwide and therefore to some extent should be

deemed a usual phenomenon. However it is worth men-

tioning its negative and positives effects.

Firstly, in some countries with high poverty rates and

low-incomes, the elderly are forced to fi nd work due to

adverse economic conditions and an undeveloped govern-

ment role in social and economic provision for those in

old age.

Secondly, employment of the elderly depends on the situ-

ation on the labor market and labor resources, which are

in turn defi ned by the demographic development of the

country. A shortage of labor resources, particularly of the

able-bodied population, promotes involvement of the eld-

erly in production and a more continuous presence on the

labor market, for example by increasing the retirement

age.

Thirdly, employment of the elderly may be seen as a posi-

tive phenomenon, leading to less burden on the able-bod-

ied population. Also, with high economic development

rates and effi cient policy against poverty, retirees may

have incomes higher than the poverty threshold and their

involvement in production provides opportunities to gain

extra income to ensure more favorable living conditions

and psychological satisfaction from awareness of their

working activity.

Migration processes that are affected by economic and

ethnocultural conditions and government policy are con-

nected with ageing of the population. Over the last fi ve

years a combination of economic factors have become the

main migration drivers. This means the majority of mi-

grants are able-bodied. Migration of the elderly may be

affected by their desire to move to be with their relatives

and for better social pension guarantees.

Opportunities for the socio-political and economic adap-

tation of the elderly in Kazakhstan are fewer than for ad-

aptation of young migrants. The elderly are conduits for

traditional cultural elements and this may cause certain

confl icts.


HEALTHY AGEING: HEALTHCARE AND SOCIAL SECURITY

CHAPTER 4


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The population structure of Kazakhstan has undergone

considerable changes resulting from peculiarities of re-

production and migration processes during the transition

period. Ageing structure has affected all other demo-

graphic indicators, in particular mortality and fertility

rates.

Analysis of new trends in the age structure of Kazakhstan

indicates that the country is already at the threshold of

ageing. Considering these processes, a number of factors

linked with health issues, organization of healthcare and

social protection for older people in Kazakhstan become

of special interest.

Ageing brings to the fore issues of old age provision as

people become more economically, socially and psycho-

logically vulnerable and have signifi cantly weakened

internal and external protection against risks. One of

the main risk factors affecting ageing negatively is the

lack of legal and social protection of older people and

a deteriorating quality of life. Among the most impor-

tant indications of older people’s quality of life is their

physical health, as measured by morbidity, longevity and

mortality rates51.

4.1. HEALTH OF OLDER PEOPLE IN KAZAKHSTAN

4.1.1. MORBIDITY

A series of in-depth epidemiological surveys focusing on

the issue of health of the elderly have been conducted

over a number of years. The surveys covered different

periods and regions of Kazakhstan and investigated a

number of pathologies.

One complex medical check-up that determines, to a cer-

tain degree, the health status of the older population of

Kazakhstan is a large-scale inspection of the whole adult

population conducted as part of the Year of Health in

2002 and lasting up to today52.

In 2002, 611,285 people aged 60+ were examined (14%

of the total sample). The results revealed that 25% of all

those diagnosed were older people.

A sustainable growth in diagnosed pathology among

older people resulted from improved healthcare and fol-

low-up care. According to the results of 2004, 48% of

sick people out of all those examined were people aged

60+, of whom 91.6% were sick. The pathology level for

10,000 examined of this particular age group is 1.7 times

51 Shabalin V.N. Social basis for effective healthcare management for the

older people in Russia.

Isiginov К. Issues of healthy ageing provision for the elderly. Materials of

the IV annual International scientifi c and practical conference “Modern

aspects of public healthcare”, Almaty, 28-29 September, 2005 г., p.44-46.

52 Principal results of medical examination, dynamic survey and sanitation of

population of the republic of Kazakhstan aged 18 and older. Astana 2002.

Report for the government, 156 p.

Principal results of medical examination, dynamic survey and sanitation of

rural population of the Republic of Kazakhstan aged 18 and older. Astana

2004. Report for the government, 16 p.

Principal results of medical examination, dynamic survey and sanitation of

rural population of the Republic of Kazakhstan aged 18 and older. Astana

2004. Report for the government, 39 p.

higher in comparison with the average national fi gure

(9,157.5 0/0 and 5,419 0/0 respectively).

Blood diseases account for 3,952 0/0 prevailing in the

sickness pattern, while musculoskeletal system diseases

comprise 1,0410/0 exceeding the average national fi gure

by 2.6 and 2 times respectively and digestive apparatus

diseases (1018,50/0) by 1.4 times. Respiratory appara-

tus diseases comprised 804.7 0/0, eye and appendages of

eye diseases – 577.9 0/0.

Either the level of revealed pathology or its structure is a

result of the burden of diseases acquired in childhood or

at working age. It is signifi cant that sickness rates among

the elderly remain high and are caused by the limited

availability of professional medical services.

Unfortunately, Kazakhstan does not have offi cial statis-

tics of sickness registration of the elderly. Recently, da-

tabases have appeared registering the number of people

suffering from socially important diseases such as can-

cer, tuberculosis and diabetes. These diseases serve as a

basis for assessing the health status of older people.

We have analyzed a register of cancer patients for 2002-

2004. Over the period the number of malignant tumors

grew by 21.5% (from 89,129 to 113,596 cases), includ-

ing among people aged 60+ by 27.7% (from 35,424 to

49,009). In 2004 43.1% of those suffering from malig-

nant tumors were people aged 60 or more.

There was a high growth rate in the number of malignant

tumors in South Kazakhstan (37.8% in total and 46.2%

among those aged 60+), Almaty (31.8% and 36.1%), Ak-

tobe (28,6% and 36,6%), Zhambyl (27.9% and 33.5%),

Akmola (27.9% and 38.1%), and Kyzylorda oblasts

(27% and 30.9%). These fi gures should be broken down

by certain forms of malignant tumors on the one hand,

while on the other, these tendencies may be associated

with better detection and cancer registration in these ob-

lasts.

Nevertheless, Karagandy and East Kazakhstan oblasts

(12.9%) have the highest cancer prevalence (15% of the

national fi gure), both being industrial centers, and Al-

maty city, with 10.5% of the total, being a large mega-

lopolis.

The urban population suffers (2.7 times) more from

malignant tumors compared with the rural people. This

indicator is 3.2 times higher among people aged 60+.

Though, due to the fact that cancer clinics are based in

cities, the urban population has more access to high-

quality detection services. According to the National

Register of people diagnosed with tuberculosis, mor-

bidity levels among the urban population are 1.2 times

higher than in rural areas. In 2004-2005 there was an

increase in tuberculosis prevalence from 284,610 cases

to 311,650 cases, or by 8.7%. Among people aged 60+

these indicators equaled 14,932 and 15,295 cases (2.4%

more) (Figure 4.1). The most considerable increase over

the reviewed period was registered in Zhambyl oblast

(30.4% in total and 11.7% among people 60+) and Al-

maty (22.7% and 14.5%).


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Figure 4.1. Trends in the number of tuberculosis cas-es in Kazakhstan (as of 31.07.05 versus 2004), %.

Source: Demographic Yeabook Almaty, 2005. P. 154

Prevalence rates are highest in South Kazakhstan oblast

(10% of the national fi gure), East Kazakhstan oblast

(9.2%), Almaty oblast (8.3%), Zhambyl oblast (8%),

which is associated with higher population density in

these oblasts. In East Kazakhstan oblast this is caused by

high rates of respiratory diseases, which are among the

principal causes of tuberculosis.

The number of people suffering from active tubercu-

losis increased considerably. Over the reviewed period

this indicator grew by 5.7%. Among people aged 60+

the number of those diagnosed with active tuberculosis

increased by 4.8% from 5,221 to 5,487 cases). The high-

est growth rates among people aged 60+ are registered

in Almaty city (19.6% in total and 16.8% among peo-

ple aged 60+), Manghistau (12.2% and 13.7%), Aktobe

(7.4% and 10.6%), North Kazakhstan (7.7% and 9.3%)

and Atyrau oblast (4.6% and 8.9%).

Review of the register of people diagnosed with dia-

betes shows that in 2004 60.4% of all those registered

were aged 60 or more. Over 2002-2004 the number of

people suffering from diabetes grew by 16%, of which

11.6% were people aged 60+. The highest numbers of

people on the follow-up care list are in Manghistau ob-

last (35.4% in total and 23.8% among people aged 60+),

Kyzylorda oblast (24.6% and 26.4%), Almaty oblast

(24% and 15.4%) and South Kazakhstan oblast (22.4%

and 20.7%).

In urban areas diabetes prevalence is 3.7 times higher

than in rural areas, while among people aged 60+ it is

4.1 times higher.

Thus, the review demonstrates high morbidity rates among older people, which exceed the average na-tional fi gure by 1.7 times. The number of socially sig-

nifi cant diseases also grew markedly. Over the last three

years there has been a 17.7% increase in the number of

people suffering from malignant tumors, and an 11.6%

increase in diabetes rates. Over the last 18 months TB

prevalence has increased by 2.5%, and active TB preva-

lence by 4.8%.

Average annual growth in the proportion of people di-

agnosed with malignant tumors is 9%, diabetes, 2% and

active diabetes, 4%.

Meanwhile, despite these trends, healthcare and so-cial security provision remain unchanged, and the health status of older people may be further deterio-

rating. Estimations lead to forecast growth in cancer pathologies by 30%, tuberculosis by 20% and diabe-tes by 16% by 2010.

4.1.2 MORTALITY AND ITS CAUSES

Mortality rates are important indicators for assessing the

health status of the population. Although death is part

of the natural lifecycle it has social implications that

fall under two large groups: endogenous (caused by the

human organism’s inner development) and exogenous

(linked with environmental impact).

Comparison of mortality dynamics across countries

with similar development histories shows that besides

the inevitable negative effects of the transition period,

Kazakhstan’s high mortality rate is caused by the ear-

ly stages of ageing followed by mass migration during

the most diffi cult period in the history of the country.

Deaths of older parents of emigrants have contributed

to high death rates, and this is confi rmed by statistics on

separate ethnic groups. The ethnic breakdown of deaths

per 1,000 people in 2003 was as follows: 6.50 Kazakhs,

15.48 Russians, 23.87 Ukrainians, 6.03 Uzbeks, 10.9

Germans, 15.04 Tatars, 6.07 Uigurs, 22.24 Byelorus-

sians, 3.48 Turks.53

Over 2000-2004 the overall mortality ratio was 10.10/000.

According to the Statistics Agency of Kazakhstan the to-

tal number of deaths equaled 152,250 of which 57.4%

were people aged 60+, i.e. 87,376 deaths.

Mortality is affected by a number of social, economic

and biological factors. The most important biological

factors are connected with ageing. In this respect, the

highest death rates are among people aged 65+ and ur-

ban death rates are signifi cantly greater than rural. (See

Table 4.1).

Table 4.1 Mortality rate per 1,000 people by gender and age, 2003

Age TotalIncluding

TotalMale

TotalFemale

Urban Rural Urban Rural Urban Rural

Total

popula-

tion

10,41 11,79 8,82 12,15 14,26 9,56 8,81 9,62 7,68

60–64 29,52 31,35 28,88 44,72 50,07 37,80 18,71 19,03 18,32

65–69 40,90 41,83 39,46 59,90 64,56 53,49 27,64 27,19 28,39

70–74 60,17 60,96 58,84 84,86 68,60 79,28 45,63 45,87 45,19

75–79 84,12 85,29 82,03 111,31 114,45 106,28 72,25 73,29 70,28

80–84 125,58 126,46 124,07 153,36 156,58 148,22 116,34 116,77 115,61

85+ 242,35 248,04 234,02 265,75 262,81 270,54 236,41 244,08 225,47

In Kazakhstan the male mortality rate exceeds the fe-

male rate, starting at a young age. For example, at ages

15-19 the male mortality rate is twice as high and at

25-29 three times as high. This is mainly caused by ac-

cidents, but at older ages higher male mortality is due

primarily to cardio-vascular diseases. Data analysis in

the report suggests the existence of male over-mortality

in Kazakhstan. (see Annex, table 4.5)54.

Male over-mortality has biological and social causes.

Among factors adversely affecting male mortality are

working conditions of men employed in hazardous jobs

53 Demographic Yearbook, Almaty, 2005, p. 154

54 Demographic Yearbook of Statistics Agency of Kazakhstan, 2005.


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and risky behavior such as smoking, drinking and drug

abuse. Nationwide, both rural and urban male over-

mortality exceeds 1. The disparity is particularly great

among those of working age. At present, male over-

mortality tends to be increasing in more economically

developed countries. However, when the discrepancy in

years of life expectancy among different age groups be-

comes dangerous and results in loss of years that could

potentially be lived, the problem becomes urgent. Analy-

sis of mortality structure by cause is a challenging task.

Reasons for mortality are closely interrelated with labor

conditions, lifestyle, level of healthcare, and the gen-

eral level of social and economic development. In the

structure of Kazakhstan’s mortality, circulatory diseases

make up 67%, tumors 13.3%, respiratory diseases 5.7%

and digestive system diseases 3.3%. (Figure 4.1).

Figure 4.2. Causes of death of population aged 60+, 2004

Source: Committee for Quality of Medical services under the Ministry of Health

Thus, the current mortality rate is still high. This is caused, in addition to other factors, by ageing, i.e. an increase in the proportion of older people whose mor-tality rates are higher than among the general popula-tion.

4.2. HEALTHY AGEING AND ITS SOCIAL, ECONOMIC AND ENVIRONMENTAL DIMENSIONS IN KAZAKHSTAN

Research into ageing in the 21st century, a project devel-

oped by UNDP, considers ageing one of the top priorities.

Global life expectancy at birth is increasing. Therefore,

ensuring that additional years of life are healthy, active

and productive becomes of particular importance.

Also, healthy ageing is a focus of the European “Healthy

Cities” initiative. This is part of a WHO project bring-

ing together more than 600 cities and 30 national net-

works in both developed and developing countries. In

Kazakhstan “Healthy Cities” was launched in 2002. The

National Center for the Promotion of Healthy Lifestyles

administers the project in 10 cities of Kazakhstan.

An important characteristic of population age structure

is longevity, which is understood to be surviving to the

age of 90 or more. Longevity depends on 1) social and

economic factors like fi nancial welfare, lifestyles, qual-

ity of culture and healthcare, living standards and labor

conditions; 2) genetic background; 3) ecology. As of early

2004, 1.46 of each 100 individuals surviving to old age

were long-livers, including 1.27 in urban areas and 1.8 in

rural areas. There are more female long-livers than male.

4.2.1. SOCIAL DIMENSIONS

Social conditions of the elderly are determined, fi rst of

all, by their health status, environment and social wel-

fare.

Survey fi ndings55 show that 42% of people aged 60+ live

with a spouse, 22% live alone and 36% live either with

children or with grandchildren. Older people are mostly

concerned with their health problems (49%) and fi nan-

cial issues (43%). Surveys have indicated that 75% of in-

dividuals aged 60+ have chronic pathologies and 54.8%

have regular medical check-ups, although 47% are not

aware of their right to free medical services56.

The social support of family and friends is of special

importance in old age. Surveys show that at the age of

60-64, some 85% of respondents do not need social and

homecare assistance while by the age of 80 only 40-45%

can claim the same. Even those living with family men-

tion that their relatives are busy at work and therefore

unable to provide the required care for their older mem-

bers.

4.2.2. OLDER PEOPLE’S LIFESTYLES

Findings of a 1998 national survey into lifestyles of the

population showed that 22% of older people smoke, with

a further 37.2% using alcohol. Regionally, the North

(51.3%), East (43.5%) and South (42.3%) regions have

the highest rates of alcohol use57.

The scale of stressful situations is large, most taking

place within families (77.7%), with the North having the

highest indicator (47.1%).

Only 9% of older people do some type of sport regularly

and the level of older people’s awareness of disease pre-

vention remains low (41.2%). They receive information

from television (37%), medical workers (24.9%) and rel-

atives (14%). Some 44.5% of people aged 60+ say they

are ready to change their lifestyles in order to maintain

their health.

4.2. ECONOMIC DIMENSIONS

Economic factors play a signifi cant role in healthy age-

ing, for example by determining living standards and

healthcare expenditure. According to surveys conducted

in Kazakhstan in 2002, 64% of people aged 60+ apply

for medical care more than once a year. The key rea-

son behind this is ineffective treatment and unaffordable

medications (58.1%)58,59.

55 Abzalova R.A. New approaches to defi ning old age. Social aspects of

working with older clients by family doctors. Community-based healthcare

and its management. 33, 2004. p.33-37.

56 Survey on availability and quality of medical services. Astana-Almaty,

2002. Report for the government. 64 p.

57 Akanov А.А., Tulebayev К.А., Ayzhanov G.B., Zhakeshbayev N.А.

Dynamics of healthy lifestyles promotion in Kazakhstan, Almaty, 2002,

177 p.

58 Survey on availability and quality of medical services. Astana-Almaty,

2002. Report for the government. 64 p.

59 Shoranov М.Е., Kasymalieva R.А., Balabayev T.F., Elamanova S.H.

Comparative analyses of medical expenditure of different age groups

of Kazakhstan. Materials of the IV annual International Science and

Practical Conference “Modern Aspects of public health care” , Almaty,

28-29September, 2005, p.152-154.


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However, the 2005 State Program of Health Protection

Reform and Development for 2005-2010 includes provi-

sion of medication for socially signifi cant diseases for

free or at reduced prices.

4.2.4. ECOLOGICAL DIMENSION

Poor environmental conditions undermine the health of the

elderly. The most signifi cant factors are water and air pol-

lution, as well as desertifi cation. In many oblasts the popu-

lation has limited access to safe potable water. About 50

% of the population consumes drinking water that is not

in compliance with mineralization and hardness require-

ments. Neither does the quality of water comply with bio-

logical standards. The annual fall in the average national

indicator of water provision has reached 3-5%. Vast areas

of Kazakhstan are affected by nuclear polygons and space-

craft launches. The result of nuclear explosions carried out

at the Semipalatinsk Nuclear Testing Ground is that half a

million people have been irradiated and 2 million hectares

of farmland exposed to radioactive contamination60.

According to the Concept of Environmental Security

of Kazakhstan for 2004-2015 approved by Presidential

Decree #1241 of 3 December 2003, “Aralsk and Semi-

palatinsk regions are declared ecological disaster ar-

eas”, where natural eco-systems, fl ora and fauna have

deteriorated and an unfavorable environmental situation

signifi cantly harms the health status of the population.

Ecological disaster areas are dangerous for the internal

security of the country.

4.3. ACCESS TO HEALTHCARE

According to the Kazakhstan Statistics Agency, in 2004

there were 1042 hospitals, 18,200 polyclinics and 4,900

midwife stations serving all population groups, includ-

ing the elderly. There were 36.3 doctors and 77.6 para-

medical personnel per 10,000 people.61

4.3.1. OUTPATIENT SERVICES

A special survey was conducted in Almaty in 2004 to

identify how often older people access medical services.

The review of visits to 3 large polyclinics showed that

the total number of visits totaled 598,983, of which visits

by people aged 60+ equaled 166,729, i.e. 28%. Given

that people aged 60+ account for 13% of the local popu-

lation, it is clear that older people access medical institu-

tions twice as often as other groups.

Analysis of the morbidity prevalence registered in the

surveyed polyclinics shows that 65,164 out of 132,168

cases were people aged 60+, i.e. 49.3%.

4.3.2. HOSPITAL CARE FOR OLDER PEOPLE

According to the Committee for Quality of Medical

Services under the Ministry of Health, in 2002 1,552,886

60 Program of poverty reduction in Kazakhstan 2003-2005, approved by the

government of Kazakhstan, dated 26 March 2003, # 296.

61 Brief statistical annual book of Kazakhstan for 2005 /edited by К.S.

Abdiev/ – Almaty, 2005 – 216 p.

patients received hospital treatment, including 203,282

people aged 60+, i.e. 13%; in 2003 there were 1,906,470

patients, including 256,124 people aged 60+ (i.e. 13.4%);

in 2004 of 1,558,481 patients 190,615 (or 12.2%) were

older people. (Figure 4.8)

Figure 4.3. Hospitalized patients by age, Kazakhstan, 2002-2004.


Consequently, 13% of hospital patients annually are

people aged 60+.

Figure 4.2 illustrates key causes of hospital treatment of

people aged 60+.

Figure 4.4. Causes of hospital treatment of older pa-tients, 2004


As can be seen from the data above, one third of the

older population received hospital treatment for circu-

latory diseases, and a tenth for digestive or respiratory

system diseases.

Regarding age groups and different types of diseases,

older people access hospitals to treat blood system dis-

eases in 42.7% of cases, sensory organ diseases – 30.7%

and tumors – 28.4%.

A survey conducted in 2002 illustrated that one in three

respondents of older age was hospitalized because of

chronic disease. One third of these rated the quality of

hospital medical care as good.

Thus, review of healthcare provision and access reveals

that of all age groups people aged 60+ access outpatient

services twice as often as others. Some 50% of the popu-

lation registered in health centers are people aged 60+.

At the same time, access to hospital treatment because

of chronic diseases among the elderly is much lower

(annual average 13%) compared with other age groups

(children 28%, adult population 58%).

There therefore appears to be somewhat inadequate med-

ical provision for the older population who have rather

limited access to high quality healthcare. However, the


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State Program of Healthcare Reform and Development

for 2005-2010 provides for a shift in focus from hospital

treatment to outpatient services, better disease preven-

tion and promotion of healthy lifestyles among all cat-

egories of the population.

4.4. SPECIAL MEDICAL CARE FOR OLDER PEOPLE IN KAZAKHSTAN

In the Soviet Union issues and research into gerontol-

ogy and geriatrics were coordinated by the Scientifi c

and Experimental Institute of Gerontology in Kiev. The

collapse of the Soviet Union led to a complete stop of

all the systematic research on gerontology and geriatrics

in most CIS countries, including Kazakhstan. Nowadays

there is neither a special system of gerontology assist-

ance in Kazakhstan, nor any research institutions/depart-

ments or training for gerontologists. However, the cur-

rent context indicates a need to create state gerontology

services. Planning of scientifi c research should embrace

the study of pathogenic mechanisms of premature age-

ing and the main ailments of old age, as well as elabora-

tion of means and methods to detect, prevent and treat

them. Scientifi cally-grounded standards of medical and

social services for the elderly are also necessary.

Almaty has the most developed palliative care services,

with its Republican Hospital for disabled veterans.

In 1999 the Almaty City hospice with a capacity of 70

beds was established and by 2004 had 1,548 patients.

Patients were mainly (65.5%) people aged 60+. Among

treated cases were blood system disorders (81.8%), and

tumors (17%). In 2004 171 people died in hospices, of

which 92.7% deaths were caused by malignant tumors

and 7.6% by circulatory diseases.

A nursing center with a capacity of 100 beds was set up

in 1992. In 2004 900 patients underwent treatment fol-

lowing strokes, ischemic heart disease, encephalopathy,

etc. The Almaty City Development Plan also includes

the construction of a second nursing center with a capac-

ity of 200 beds.

Hospices also operate in Karaganda, Semipalatinsk, Ust-

Kamenogorsk and Pavlodar.

Currently, the State Program of Healthcare Reform and

Development for 2005-2010 provides for “improvement

of rehabilitation and palliative care, including establish-

ment of hospices and a nursing center” (p.47 of the Plan

of Action for implementation the State Program, Gov-

ernment Decree # 1050 of 13.10.04).

4.5. OLDER PEOPLE AND DISABILITY

An urgent problem of contemporary society that was the

focus of attention at the Second UN World Assembly on

Ageing in Madrid on 2 April 2002 was disability among

older people.

According to WHO statistics disabled people account

for about 10% of the world population, most of whom

are older people. The number of disabled people varies

from country to country. In China, for example, there

are 60 million disabled people, which is about 5% of the

population. In Russia 6% of the population are offi cially

registered as disabled, while in the USA 19% of the pop-

ulation are registered disabled.

According to the RK Ministry of Labor and Social Pro-

tection, as of 1 January 2005 Kazakhstan had 413,600

disabled people, which is 3% of the population.

Insert 4.1.International experience in providing medical-social help to the elderly.“The model of geriatric help” were called department of integrated home care. Effective prophylactic medicine delivered to homes

can reduce considerably the need for hospitalization and institutionalization among the elderly.

In USA professional home help services for the elderly are provided by certifi ed home help agencies, which can be private or

non-profi t. Financing of their activities comes from two federal programs – Medicare and Medicaid. Agencies carry out medical

and rehabilitation programs, including qualifi ed care, physiotherapy, speech and work-therapy, consultations with social workers,

psychologists, dieticians, etc. Home based hospitals are also organized.

One of the forms of long-term medical help are houses of sisterly care. In USA there are more than 18,000 of these houses, each

with 80 places on average. About 75% of these are private, commercial, about 15% are private non-profi t fi nanced by ethnic, reli-

gious and charity organizations. The non-commercial sector provides more than half (56%) of the medical services at local level.

Volunteers play a key role in the medical and social activities of home help agencies for the elderly on a community level.

The Japanese government, among all social welfare issues, pays most attention to creation of a good standard of living for the elderly. This is connected to the number of this constantly growing category in Japan, which by 2025 will reach 5.2 million in

comparison to 2 million in 1993.

In 1986 a law to stabilize the hiring people of middle-aged people was ratifi ed. As a result, elderly people in Japan not only earn

money, but also remain within their system of familiar social connections. Since they often need to change their professions, spe-

cial re-training centers are being created.

In 1989 the Japanese government adopted “the golden plan” – a 10-year strategy to improve medical services and increase the

well-being of elderly people. This aims to create a system of services for people of this age at home e.g. special stations providing

medical help for the elderly at home were created and building home-stays with a full range of services.

This plan, enhanced and amended in 1994 is called “the new golden plan” and provides an increasing number of services for the

elderly. In particular, by 1999 the number of people benefi ting from these services at home was increased to 170,000, in compari-

son to 31,500 in 1989. A research center focusing on development of a complex system of support provision for the elderly was

also created.

In accordance with the government strategy of turning Japan into a “superstate of living standards”, on the basis of its achieve-

ments by 2025 it is planned to increase expenditure on social welfare up to 28.5–32.5% of national income.


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Over the last 13 years about 51,500 people have been

diagnosed with disability annually. Between 1992 and

2004 the number of people recognized as disabled among

the adult population reduced almost twofold.

Analysis of the number of registered disabled people in

Kazakhstan illustrates a downward trend of almost 30%

over the period 1999-2004. In addition, there is an ir-

regular downward trend in primary disability among the

working age and older populations. Primary disability

detection rates are falling at a greater rate in the retire-

ment age group: from 8,100 to 4,100 cases over the peri-

od (Figure 4.3). In 1999 retirees accounted for 16.3% of

people diagnosed with primary disability, with the other

83.7% being people of working age. By 2004 retirees

accounted for only one tenth of those diagnosed with

primary disability. This trend is not caused by a reduc-

tion in the proportion of disabled older people, but by

a reduction in the number of retirees referred by health

institutions to register their disability: according to the

government decree of 24 August 2000 “any age-related

changes are not suffi cient to diagnose a disability”.

Figure 4.5. Primary disability by age


Following the adoption of Resolution of the Statistics

Agency of 20 October 2004, a new detailed statistical

reporting form #7 “Report of medical and social as-

sessment departments under the Ministry of Labor and

Social Protection” was introduced. This allowed review

of the disability status of older people and retirees, i.e.

women aged 58+ and men aged 63+.

In 2004, 42,825 people were ‘diagnosed’ with disabili-

ties. Out of 35,808 registered with a primary disability,

11% (4,071 people) were retirees. There were more ur-

ban versus rural people among those registered with a

primary disability. At the same time, registration of a

primary disability for older people varied depending

on place of residence. Among people diagnosed with

a primary disability, 73% were urban residents (2,980

people) while 27% (1,091 people) lived in rural areas.

This is associated with the fact that qualifi ed medical and

social services are more readily available in urban areas.

Rural and urban ratios of people diagnosed with disabil-

ity at retirement versus working age also differ. In urban

areas retirees account for 14% of disabled people, while

a further 86% are of the working age population. In rural

areas older people make up only 8% of those diagnosed

with a primary disability.

Not all disabled older people have permanent registra-

tion of their disability. One in four of such people, of

which 711 and 305 are urban and rural residents respec-

tively, will have to be assessed again after a certain peri-

od. This is one of the characteristics of the new approach

in accordance with regulatory and legal documents on

medical assessment of retired people. Previously, retire-

ment age was the criterion for identifying a disability

category, without need for re-assessment.

In older age women are more vulnerable in terms of dis-

ability, due to gender disparities in life expectancy and

resistance to disease, as well as lifelong gender inequal-

ity62. The gender distribution of people registered with

a primary disability, including older people, by place of

residence and employment status is illustrated in Fig-

ure 4.4

Among all registered disabled, the male to female ra-

tio is 3 to 2 (58.7% versus 41.3%). Men prevail even in

older age and also among disabled workers, especially

among the rural population, where men make up 93.8%,

whereas in urban areas men account for 66.2% of older

people with a disability. Gender imbalance becomes less

evident in the group of unemployed people diagnosed

with a disability, as well as among retired people, where

men and women are equal in number.

Analysis of the breakdown of people diagnosed with

primary disability by disability category reveals con-

siderable variation between working and retired people.

62 Older people and disability. Report of the Commission of Social

Development of the Second World Assembly on Ageing. Madrid, 2 April

2002.

Figure 4.4. Percentages of men and women with primary disability, 2004



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Older people tend to be diagnosed with the most severe

primary disabilities, accounting for about 95% (sum of

disability categories I and II), while disabilities of people

of working age account for 68% of severity. There are

more rural than urban people diagnosed with the most

severe disabilities (category 1), at 34% and 30% respec-

tively.

Ecological factors lying behind primary disabilities are

becoming a more obvious and urgent problem. This is

relevant to the general population and older people in

particular. Disabilities caused by ecological disasters

following nuclear testing at Semipalatinsk and shrinking

of the Aral Sea are the second and third most signifi cant

causes of disability, which clearly indicates that such en-

vironmental factors have serious human health impacts.

This also results in higher disability detection rates in

Kazakhstan, especially for older people.

The distribution of people diagnosed with primary dis-

ability according to the International Disorder Clas-

sifi cation illustrates that the main causes of adult dis-

ability, regardless of place of residence, are circulatory

disorders. Cardiovascular system disorders are second in

importance, with injuries third. Some specifi c features

characterize older people in this context. According to

2004 statistics, retired people in either rural or urban

locations mostly suffer from malignant tumors, cardio-

vascular disorders, eye and eye appendage diseases and

endocrine system disorders. See Figure 4.5

The international community is becoming increasingly

convinced that full social participation is of the highest

importance in today’s world. This is also justifi ed by new

indicators of social development assessing the social

maturity of a nation. One of these is the human develop-

ment index embracing three main human development

components, which are longevity, education and living

standards, according to the Concept of Human Develop-

ment of the Nobel Laureate Amartya Sen63. Although in

the context of human development the disability issue

was not addressed, these three indicators show that disa-

bled people are the most vulnerable and disadvantaged

group. This, according to the author, predetermines the

need for further research in this area. It may also prove

reasonable to include disability indices in the list of hu-

man development indices as an indicator most negatively

infl uencing the combined index, i.e. human development

index. Social vulnerability of the disabled as a specifi c

population segment could be traced in all social indica-

tors. Disability is one of the determining mechanisms of

social differentiation of mortality. Numerous studies of

social disparities in mortality illustrate higher mortality

rates among vulnerable groups, especially at pre-retire-

ment age. According to Komarov U.M. and his co-au-

thors, life expectancy of the able-bodied and disabled

population is different twofold: 72.3 versus 31.6 years

respectively64. Mortality research also illustrates a “pro-

tective” function of good education and marital status.

From the point of view of marital status, most disabled

people are single, divorced or never married. Their edu-

cational level is also comparatively low.

According to the “Poverty Reduction Program in the Re-

public of Kazakhstan for 2003-2005” approved by gov-

ernment decree of 26 March 2006, in Kazakhstan poor

people are mostly represented by socially vulnerable

people, including lonely older people, people with dis-

abilities and others. Lonely older people have to address

63 Sen A. “Development as Capability Expansion.” In: Journal of

Development Planning. 1989. No.19

64 Komarov Yu.М., Ermakov S.P., Ivanova А.Е. and others. Life expectancy

of Russian people adjusted by disability: trends, regional dimensions, main

causes of decline. М., 1997. 82 p.

Figure 4.7. Older people diagnosed with primary disability by main cause of disability



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increasing utility costs, medical and other services. Old-

er people are at a greater risk of poverty, which is caused

by their limited opportunities. In the context of limited

employment opportunities, the issue of employment of

disabled people becomes of the greatest urgency. Pen-

sions and disability benefi ts are always at a minimum,

by default.

Disabled older people make up the greater half of the to-

tal disabled sector and are the most disadvantaged group

in Kazakhstan by all social indicators, including basic

indicators of human development. Every third older

individual diagnosed with a primary disability in 2004

usually has the most severe disability (category one) and

is in constant need of care.

Socially signifi cant disorders are the main cause of dis-

ability for the elderly. According to the register of peo-

ple with primary disability, in 2004 there were four main

types of causes of disability in old age: malignant tumors,

cardiovascular disorders, eye diseases and diabetes.

The government should better address the problems

faced by older people, especially disabled older people,

as they are clearly the most disadvantaged group.

4.6. INTEGRATED MEDICAL AND SOCIAL SERVICES

The legislative framework for medical and social serv-

ices consists of Laws On Pension Provision in the Re-

public of Kazakhstan of 20 June 1997, On State Social

Disability Benefi ts for the loss of bread-winner and for

age standards of 16 June 1997, On Special State Ben-

efi ts in the Republic of Kazakhstan of 5 April 1999, On

Amendments to several legal acts of the Republic of

Kazakhstan on social assistance to Second World War

veterans, disabled people, benefi t recipients for the loss

of bread-winner, of 31 December 2004.

The transition to a market economy has initiated changes

in the system of social security and determined a shift

from a completely unitary system of social protection to

a mixed one. The Concept of social security system of

the Republic of Kazakhstan approved by the government

on 27 June 2001 offers a model system of social protec-

tion, including elements of both solidarity and targeted

systems of mandatory and voluntary insurance.

On 25 April 2003 the Law on Mandatory Social Insur-

ance was adopted. Its article 21, p.5 states that “as soon

as an individual reaches the age that entitles him to pen-

sion benefi ts, social compensations for loss of capabil-

ity discontinue”. The law became effective on 1 January

2005.

The Law On Mandatory Insurance of Civil Liability of

Employer Against Disablement of Employee While On

Duty was adopted on 7 February 2005 and has been in

force since 1 July 2005.

Table 4.2 demonstrates some consequences of these laws

after they were adopted in the course of reforms of the

social security system in Kazakhstan.

Phase one: allocation of benefi ts from the budget for all

citizens equally (depending on social risks).

Phase two: provision of all formal sector employees with

additional benefi ts from a mandatory civil liability system

until retirement age or discontinuance of basis for insur-

ance payments.

Phase three: in case of disablement or loss of breadwin-

ner caused by occupational disease, additional social aid

is provided until the end of the basis for insurance pay-

ments.

The legislative framework for the existing medical and

social protection system is made up of laws On Public

Health Protection in Kazakhstan of 19 May 1997, On

Public Healthcare System of 4 June 2003, On Social Pro-

tection of Disabled People for 2002-2005, State Program

of Healthcare Reform and Development in the Republic

of Kazakhstan of 13 September 2004.

Kazakhstani legislation defi nes integrated medical and so-

cial care as one of the types of pubic medical services (p.1

article 15 of the law on Public Health Protection in Kaza-

Table 4.2


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khstan of 19 May 1997). According to page 5 article 15 of

the law, medical and social care embraces a set of steps on

the creation and development of a network of small-scale

social organizations, benefi t provision, providing employ-

ers with medical recommendations regarding their staff

and organization of a rational regime of labor and nutri-

tion. Medical and social assistance are provided for people

suffering from socially signifi cant diseases and diseases

dangerous for society, with free or reduced price medi-

cal treatment. Socially signifi cant diseases are pathologies

common for the elderly such as cancers, mental disorders,

diabetes, cardiac arrest, the post-surgery state of vital or-

gans, tuberculosis, etc.

Orthopedic assistance is an important area of medical and

social assistance and the rehabilitation of older and disa-

bled people. Today orthopedic support is provided in ac-

cordance with the “Regulations of provision of orthopedic

and technical compensatory aid for disabled people” ap-

proved by government decree of 20 July 2005. All disa-

bled people, including the elderly should be provided with

prosthetic and orthopedic devices for free or at reduced

price. There are three orthopedic centers in Kazakhstan,

located in Almaty, Petropavlovsk and Semipalatinsk, all

fi nanced from the national budget. Some 30,000 people

are registered in these orthopedic centers, as people re-

quiring prosthetic and orthopedic devices. Over 16,000

disabled people received orthopedic aid in 2004, versus

over 15,000, including older people, in 2003.

Measures are also being taken to improve provision of au-

dio and optical devices for people with hearing and vision

disorders. There are 94,000 people suffering from hearing

disorders who need audio devices and audio aid. There are

a further 18,000 people with visual disorders who need

optical devices.

Sanatorium-and-spa treatment is an integral part of medi-

cal, social and rehabilitation aid for older and disabled

people in Kazakhstan. Some 51.6 million tenge in 2003,

70.8 million in 2004, increasing to 125.4 million in 2005

was provided from the state budget for sanatorium-and-

spa treatment for veterans and disabled people. In 2003

2,000 and in 2004 2,500 veterans and disabled people

enjoyed sanatorium-and-spa treatment. The republican

boarding house for war and labor veterans “Ardager”,

under the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection, is situ-

ated in Almaty.

The government decree of 20 July 2005 approves a “List

of medical indications suffi cient for provision of disabled

people with walking aids”. Local budgets are able to pro-

vide disabled and older people with special walking de-

vices. In 2002, 910 items were purchased, increasing to

950 in 2003, and 1,798 wheelchairs of various specifi ca-

tions in 2004.

There are 79 residential internats serving as medical and

social institutions in Kazakhstan, 35 of them nursing

houses for the elderly and disabled, housing more than

18,000 people on full state provision. There are also vari-

ous private boarding houses. According to a decision of

the mayor of Almaty City of 1 April 2002 a social board-

ing house for single retirees, disabled people, and lonely

older couples was opened in Almaty.

One important type of social service is home care, which

is provided by 334 social service departments and 6 Re-

gional Centers, taking care of more than 35,000 single

older people. USAID (through the American International

Health Alliance, AIHA) is currently implementing a com-

munity-based primary healthcare project in sites across

Kazakhstan. Within the framework of this project the

Family Group Practice “Demeu” was set up in Astana in

2000. “Demeu” is the fi rst center in CIS to integrate medi-

cal and social assistance, including assistance to vulner-

able population groups and the elderly. One of the per-

formance indicators of this project is a 31% reduction in

emergency calls over a period of three years. Improved

quality of medical services is seen in better health indi-

cators of the serviced population and illustrates the need

to replicate this model nationwide. Consequently, as of

2004, similar projects have been established in Semipal-

atinsk and Uralsk, while another two are planned to be

based in Kokshetau and Almaty.

The Ministry of Labor and Social Security of Kazakhstan

has elaborated a draft of the “Disabled people rehabilita-

tion program for 2006-2008”, which includes reorganiza-

tion of the network of social services for older and disa-

bled people, structural and transitional reform of these

organizations, elaboration of state standards of social

services, creation of a network of small-capacity internats

and boarding houses, construction and reconstruction of

existing boarding houses in Almaty and Astana and other

oblasts, the building of a hospice in Kostanai oblast, etc.

Laws “On social protection of victims of the Aral disas-ter” of 30 June 1992, “Оn social protection of victims of nuclear tests at Semipalatinsk nuclear testing ground” of

18 December 1992 provide the legislative framework for

the provision of social and environmental protection of

the population.

Various NGOs function effectively in many regions of

Kazakhstan, assisting medical workers in providing medi-

cal and social care to vulnerable groups. The following

public unions of disabled people are among those active in

Kazakhstan: Kazakh Society of people with hearing disa-

bilities; Kazakh association of people with vision disabili-

ties; Association of Afghanistan war veterans; Voluntary

association of disabled people of Kazakhstan; Association

of disabled women “Shyrak”; “Namys” NGO of disabled

people with higher education; Asian society for disabled

people’s rights “Zhan”. Recently, the public fund “Em-

ployment assistance and social protection of the poor”

was created. One of its main projects is called “Zabota”65

aiming to support retired and disabled people in need and

other vulnerable population groups.

However, it should be noted that many legal acts are pure-

ly declarative and do not have suffi cient fi nancial backup

to allow effective and comprehensive implementation.

In conclusion, two agencies are the main actors in pro-

viding medical and social aid for disabled and older peo-

ple. These are the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of

Labor and Social Protection, which integrate medical and

social care for older and disabled people. Among other

actors are NGOs and voluntary organizations.

65 Zabota project’s web-site www.zabota.kz


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CONCLUSIONS

Analysis of the above data indicates profound problems

in the health status of Kazakhstan’s older population,

which is the main reason behind disabilities and mortality.

Circulatory diseases, musculoskeletal system disorders,

digestive disorders, respiratory system diseases, eye and

eye appendage diseases top the breakdown of chronic

pathologies.

High morbidity rates among the population aged 60+ de-

termine their need to access outpatient facilities twice as

often as the general population. Regardless of the annual

growth of the morbidity ratio, hospital services for those

aged over 60 remain unchanged and do not meet older

people’s need for medical care.

There are no specifi c gerontology services provided in

Kazakhstan and no training is available for gerontologists.

Also, there are no offi cial statistics on morbidity rates

among older people and their access to medical facilities.

Older disabled people comprise the majority of disabled

people and are the most vulnerable people by all social in-

dicators, including basic human development indicators.

The problem of ageing, affecting all forms of state and

society performance at this stage of economic and social

reform, presents a number of serious challenges for Ka-

zakhstan as it seeks to achieve sustainable human devel-

opment for all citizens. The lack of gerontology services,

high morbidity and mortality rates among the elderly, le-

gal restrictions on social guarantees in old age - such as

diffi culties identifying categories of disability or the ex-

tent of overall incapacity - prove the timeliness of raising

the issue of ageing in Kazakhstan and the search for better

solutions, one of which is the strategy of healthy ageing.


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EDUCATION FOR ALL GENERATIONS

CHAPTER 5


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5.1 AGEING IN THE CONTEXT OF EDUCATION IN KAZAKHSTAN

The process of ageing of the population of Kazakhstan

as an issue for research is also new from the educational

point of view, since their correlation has not been fully

researched neither by pedagogical nor any other social

sciences. The magnitude of considering ageing within

the context of education is confi rmed by data analysis of

Kazakhstan’s national 1999 census.66

In this chapter, data on the population in the 65-69 age

range was used to analyze the structure of the population

by age and level of education. The majority of the popu-

lation of this age has only received primary education

(40.6%). Some 19.3% of the elderly have basic general

education and 14.8% have completed general secondary

education. Also, 11.3% of people aged 65 have second-

ary vocational education, while people with higher vo-

cational education make up only 8.5%. Therefore, in the

current economic situation, if they wish to continue to

work, the majority of people aged 65-69 are vulnerable

in terms of amount of pension they receive, because of

inadequate levels of education. This situation is especial-

ly pronounced in rural areas. Hence, the proportion of

urban elderly with higher vocational education is higher,

at 10.9% than the 4.6% in rural areas. In villages, 49.2%

of the elderly population has only primary education,

whereas in the cities the fi gure is 35.4%.67

The importance of higher education as a factor contribut-

ing to employment is demonstrated by the breakdown of

employed population by level of education and age. To

illustrate this, data related to older people ages 65-72 has

been analyzed indicating that, indeed, the bulk of em-

ployed people of this age group have higher professional

education (33.5%), primary (18.9%) and vocational edu-

cation. In urban areas there are more employed people

aged 65-72 with higher education (43.0%), while in rural

areas with primary education (32.3%)68.

The same tendency occurs in fi gures of age and em-

ployment ratio to levels of education, taking into ac-

count gender differences. There are more men aged 65-

69 (11.0%), with higher education, than women of the

same age (6.8%). In general, women of this age group

are disadvantaged compared to men at all levels of edu-

cation, except primary. There are more women with pri-

mary education (42.2%) than men (38.3%). Therefore,

elderly women are more vulnerable than men, and this

is refl ected in employment fi gures. There are more em-

ployed men in urban and rural areas. At the same time,

the employed population of both genders with higher

vocational education prevails in urban areas, at 47.1%

and 36.7% respectively. On the other hand, in rural areas

the number of employed people includes - of both gen-

ders - mainly those with primary education (28.8% men,

39.6% women)69.

66 Education of the Republic of Kazakhstan / Edited by А.А.Smailov.

– Almaty: Statistics Agency, 2002.


– Almaty: Statistics Agency, 2002 pp 8-12.


– Almaty: Statistics Agency, 2002 p. 23.


– Almaty: Statistics Agency, 2002. pp 24-25.

This data indicates the need to consider education as one of

the main factors in improving the quality of elderly people’s

lives. The importance of education gained throughout the

life of every elderly person and the importance of educa-

tion after gaining offi cial status of a pensioner, should both

be emphasized. In the latter case the problem of education

might take various forms: demand for additional educa-

tion from elderly people in order to broaden their skills and

knowledge; demand for the life experience and professional

qualities of elderly people, as a result of education through-

out their lives, by a system of education, society, family and

in order to meet mutually benefi cial needs. In any case, the

question of education in the context of population ageing is

far wider than simple provision of additional educational

services for elderly people according to their requests.

To what extent can education, as a system and as a proc-

ess, react positively to the ageing process in Kazakhstan?

What is the meaning of education in terms of value and

results in the lives of the elderly? What is the role of edu-

cation in involving the elderly in active social life and in

prolonging their fruitful labor activity? The search for

answers to these questions indicates the importance of

education for elderly people, the availability of educa-

tion and demand for education from the elderly.

5.2 IMPORTANCE OF EDUCATION FOR OLDER PEOPLE

It is worthwhile to begin the examination of the edu-

cation problem in the context of population ageing in

Kazakhstan with a question: to what extent is education

Insert 5.1.THE ELDERLY: VITALLY IMPORTANT RESOURCESJames Shabel – Vice-president of the Corporation for Na-

tional Services, Washington D.C.

In the last four decades the number of USA residents over

65 years old has doubled, and it is expected that by 2030 the

number will double once more. Present-day pensioners see

that after retirement they have time, energy and willingness

to dedicate themselves to voluntary activities, which they

had so little time for while they were working. They enter

organizations such as Elderly National Corps, which covers

more than half a million citizens of an older age.

The Corps that is a part of the Corporation for National

Services has 24,000 “adopted” grandmothers and grandfa-

thers who spend 20 hours a week in prisons, juvenile houses,

classrooms, shelters for the homeless and other places help-

ing children who became victims of domestic violence and

negligence from parents and taking care of mistreated babies

and disabled children. About 13,000 “elderly helpers” help

other lonely elderly people. Other elderly volunteers work

with students, build houses, patrol the neighborhoods and

deliver food to those who are bedridden…

For example, 5 demonstration projects under title of “Corps

of the Wise” conducted by the Corporation for National Serv-

ices encourage elderly citizens not only to become coaches

in schools, but also participate in pedagogical work with stu-

dents after classes, organize parents for creation of a “Parent

– Teacher – Student” association and participate in work of

local schools in a new way….

Using the potential of 50 million of elderly people can give a

lot to building a better society for all Americans.


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necessary for the older generation? This question is con-

nected to the importance of education in the life of an

individual in his/her middle age, both during his/her ac-

tive working life and after retirement.

The importance of education for those aged 65+ is ob-

vious, especially since not all of them are suffi ciently

protected from social needs at this age. Thus, according

to data of the Statistical Agency, in 2001, out of 10.4% of

unemployed 2.6% consisted of people aged 65-69. In the

past four years this number is likely to have increased

due to the 50% of the unemployed who were aged 60-64

in 2001. At the same time, there are more unemployed

men of these ages than women, both in cities and vil-

lages.

Unemployment, both as a negative stage in the life of

an individual and as a social phenomenon, to a certain

extent depends on the education level of the unemployed

population. Thus, analysis of the unemployed popula-

tion by level of education, shows that people with higher

education make up the smallest proportion of the unem-

ployed. According to the RK Statistical Agency, in 2001,

among the population with higher education, only 6.1%

were unemployed. In the population as a whole, those

with only general primary or secondary education are

most likely to be unemployed. This tendency is also ob-

served when examining the unemployment problem on

the basis of gender and place of residence.70

The importance of education for the elderly is confi rmed

by data on economic activities of the population. The

activities of an individual are aimed towards inclusion in

the category of paid wage laborers or the self-employed.

A category of employers taken for data analysis is a

member of a production cooperative or unpaid family

worker, and is economically more profi table and pres-

tigious than a wage laborer. Thus, analysis of data on

employment and education status for 2001 shows that

employers, as one of the kinds of self-employed work-

ers, are usually people with higher and unfi nished higher

education (39.9%). This is particularly pronounced in

urban areas (48.7%). However, in rural areas the picture

is slightly different. In villages employers with primary,

basic, secondary general education (41.4%) prevail over

employers with higher and unfi nished higher education

(28.7%), as well as employers with secondary voca-

tional education (29.8%). In rural areas in general, the

economically active are people with fi nished or unfi n-

ished secondary general education. They tend to occupy

themselves with independent work on an individual ba-

sis (79.2%), personal smallholdings (80.8%) in compari-

son with workers of other levels of education within the

frameworks of each category.71

This phenomenon is connected to rural lifestyles

where economically profi table activities are those re-

lated to farming, where physical strength and specifi c

skills are more important than knowledge of specialized

professional fi elds. However, it is worth noting that the

quality of all kinds of individual work and economic


– Almaty: Statistics Agency, 2002, p. 33


– Almaty: Statistics Agency, 2002, pp.31-32

profi t would be higher if economically active villagers

adopted new technologies and methods of work that

would allow not only producing for themselves, but also

improving society’s quality of life.

Thus, any person aged 65 or more has the right to con-

tinue both an economically active and socially benefi cial

life, after becoming a pensioner. However, insuffi cient

adaptability of the elderly to the market system, as well

as to forming new relationships in society create diffi -

culties in mobilization of their potential for expressing

themselves in various areas of social life, both as satis-

faction of personal needs in spiritual development and

as organization of new kinds of activities that benefi t

family and society. In this case elderly people need to

supplement their education, to gain new knowledge and

skills regardless of their level of education. Consequent-

ly, the question arising is: “How important is it to create

conditions for educating the elderly if there are so few

of them?”

The necessity to provide the elderly people with condi-

tions for realization of their rights for education is proved

by the Statistical Agency on the following parameters:

calculations of population’s life expectancies; dynam-

ics of the number of elderly people aged 65 or more in

the overall population; data on decreases in population

mortality.

Analysis of life expectancy for 2005, provided by the

Statistical Agency, shows that the expected remaining

lifetime of men at the age of 65 is 10.73 years, and for

women 14.72 years. At the time it is worth consider-

ing data on the numbers of men reaching the age of 75

(22,764 men), women reaching the age of 75 (51,856

women) and the age of 80 (36,246 women). Correla-

tion of these numbers shows that of currently living men

aged 65, only 4.5% will reach the age of 75 and among

women of this age, just 4.7% will reach the age of 75,

with 3.2% reaching the age of 80. These data prove the

possible growth of the elderly, whose majority of eco-

nomic activity during old age is observed between 65

and 75 years. This conclusion on the possible growth of

the older population is confi rmed by actual fi gures and

forecasts of future population numbers by age.

The next argument, regarding the necessity of providing

the elderly with conditions for realization of their rights

for education, is data on decreases in mortality. Thus,

in 2004-2005 a decrease of mortality was observed at

an annual rate of 1%. It is presumed that this positive

tendency will continue. According to forecasts of Y. K.

Shokamanova, possible decreases in mortality in 2005-

2006 will equal 2.0% in men and 1.5% in women.

Thus, increases in the number of the middle aged, their

social position and level of education prove the impor-

tance of concentrating society’s attention on them. This

attention should focus on support of the elderly in terms

of adaptation to new ways of life and prolongation of

their economic and socially benefi cial activities.

As a result the elderly are likely to need to gain new

skills of an applied character. It is possible that the eld-

erly do not realize this necessity, which is revealed in


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their apparent lack of motivation to use supplementary

educational services. However, society must initiate the

process of broadening the functional possibilities of the

elderly and create conditions to satisfy their need for

supplementary education in order to gain important life

skills. This function must be carried out by area of edu-

cation through formal and informal means.

5.3 ACCESS OF OLDER PEOPLE TO EDUCATION

Undoubtedly, involvement of elderly people in an ac-

tive social life and in work activities depends on level

of activity of the elderly themselves, on their willingness

to react to new situations through gaining new practical

skills. However, sometimes the activity and fl exibility of

an elderly person is not enough. Traditionally, our soci-

ety has seen the elderly as a non-labor resource. This is

important both to the individual and to the society as a

whole. As the result, society’s responsibility for creation

of conditions to provide the elderly with moral support

becomes topical. Education has both formal and infor-

mal elements, which are meant to provide educational

services to people of all ages including the older popula-

tion, according to their educational abilities and desires.

Considering the real level of education, every elderly

person has the right to use the services of formal educa-

tion, from evening schools to after-college training. They

are also entitled to use systems of informal education,

provided by centers, associations, unions, NGOs, etc.

Theoretically, provision of education services to elder-

ly people can be executed via a third channel as well,

close interdependence of which with the previous two

is seen in real life. Every person gains vital knowledge

and skills not only through formal and informal means of

education. Formation of an individual throughout his/her

whole life is also infl uenced by the informal information

environment, which can be called “The School of Life”.

This refers to the street, neighbors, mass media, friends,

relatives, etc. Consideration of hidden functions of in-

formal information fl ow in the process of gaining vital

practical skills by the elderly, helps to view it as one of

the forms of education.

The signifi cance of this form of education is heightened

in conditions of market relations within the society, when

the well-being of every individual depends on his/her

level of activity, motivation to gain new practical skills

and readiness for change.

It should be noted that all three forms of education in

practice overlap with one another. However, of all three

forms of education, formal education has the most pur-

poseful and systematic structure. Information education

in Kazakhstan, still at a formative stage, does not yet

have a clearly defi ned structure. Informal education as

an uncontrollable process cannot and should not have

strictly regulated structure and contents. While not ex-

cluding the possibility of using the potential of the two

other forms of education, we will examine the avail-

ability of education to the elderly in more detail. Thus,

what is the situation in Kazakhstan in terms of providing

formal educational services to the population aged of 65

and older?

The structure of the education system in Kazakhstan is

open and provides opportunities to elderly people to get

and supplement their education as needed, within the

limits of the formal education system. At general sec-

ondary education level, evening schools are available

to the elderly. The signifi cance of evening schools, as a

means of formal education, is indicated by 1999 census

data. Theoretically, not only 40.6% of the population at

the age of 65-69 could use these services, but also 3.6%

of people without primary education who could read and

write. Nevertheless, their number drastically decreased

in 1999, to 31 evening schools, in comparison with the

1991-1992 academic year when there were 226 such

schools. More recently these have gradually increased in

number and by the 2004-2005 academic year their over-

all number stood at 75 evening schools.

Also, the system of primary vocational education

does not appear to be topical for elderly people. In

the 2000-2001 academic year only 8 people aged 46

and older studied within the system, and in 2001 there

were just 16 people enrolled.72 It is worth noting that

primary vocational education is available to the eld-

erly in all regions of the Republic, despite the fact

that the number of vocational-technical schools de-

creased from 471 in the early 1990s to 285 in 1999,

while in the past few years their number has reached

only 296.

A slightly different picture appears related to the

system of secondary professional education. There

has been growth in the number of colleges in Kaza-

khstan. In 1991 there were only 244 colleges but by

2001 this number had increased by 74. Out of these

318 colleges 44 were located in Almaty and 38 in East

Kazakhstan oblast. Other colleges were in South Ka-

zakhstan (28), Pavlodar (27), Karagandy (24) oblasts.

Atyrau and West Kazakhstan oblasts had the fewest,

with nine colleges each73. An increase in the number of

colleges has been observed in subsequent years also.

According to the statistical yearbook of Kazakhstan in

2004 their number had reached 357 in the 2002-2003

academic year74. In general, all regions of Kazakhstan

have colleges – a testimony to the availability of this

level of education for the elderly, if they are willing

and fi nancially able to enroll. However, there has been

little growth in number of students in colleges aged 46

and older. In the academic year 1995-1996 college stu-

dents aged 46 and older constituted just 0.86% (1233

people) of the overall number of students. Five years

later in the 2001-2002 academic year students of this

age constituted 1.11% (2282) of the overall number of

students (196,239)75.


– Almaty: Statistics Agency, 2002, pp.84-85

73 Education of the Republic of Kazakhstan / Under edit. А.А.Smailov.

– Almaty: Statistical Agency, 2002, p.86

74 Statistical Yearbook of Kazakhstan / Edited by К.S. Abdiev – Almaty,

2004. – P. 104.


– Almaty: Statistical Agency, 2002, pp.90-100


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Over the last two years, growth in the number of college

students aged 40-plus has been observed. According to

the Statistical Agency the number of college students

aged 40-plus constituted 3170 people in the 2003-2004

academic year. Distribution of college students of this

age group by oblast in the 2004-2005 academic year

shows the leading places to be Pavlodar (497), Aktobe

(338) and Karagandy (398) oblasts. The smallest number

of students of this age was in Atyrau oblast, with just 31

people enrolled (see Appendix 1).

The same tendency can be seen for institutes of higher

education and universities, where the number of students

aged 40 or more is increasing noticeably. For comparison,

in the academic year 1999-2000 there were 2,586 40+

university students, but by academic year 2001-2002 their

number had increased more than three times, to 841676.

The greatest number of students aged 40 and older oc-

curred in academic years 2003-2004 (13,461 students)

and 2004-2005 (17246). The number of students in uni-

versities age 40 and older by oblasts is shown in Ap-

pendix 2. Therefore, receiving higher education remains

prestigious for all age groups. Almost all high school

graduates aspire to receive higher education, despite the

fact that number of universities is smaller. Data from Ka-

zakhstan’s census years 1959, 1970, 1979, 1989 showed

that the majority of people enrolled in higher education

were men. However, the 1999 census showed a greater

number of women than men enrolled in higher educa-

tion, both within overall population and in the city – vil-

lage context. This is due to the increasing number of uni-

versities across Kazakhstan and the wider availability of

higher education in all regions. In 1991 Kazakhstan had

only 61 universities but by 2001 this number had tripled

to 185. At the same time, non-state universities began to

appear and their number has increased signifi cantly: in

2003-2004 Kazakhstan had 134 non-state universities.


– Almaty: Statistical Agency, 2002, p. 121

Opportunities for formal postgraduate education are

illustrated by the number of post-graduate Masters/

Doctoral programs available. The number of post-

graduate places at institutes of scientifi c research

and universities has increased from 83 candidates in

1991, to 121 candidates in 38 departments by 1999

and 124 candidates in 41 departments by 2001. From

1991 to 2001 the number of doctoral studies/programs

increased from 8 to 53 departments77. However, the

growing number of such programs in subsequent years

has hardly infl uenced the willingness of those aged

65+ to occupy themselves in academia and gain scien-

tifi c degrees, except for those elderly people who are

conducting their own scientifi c work. The majority of

the older population does not use the services of post-

graduate education. The reason for their low demand

for this level of education are not age restrictions -

which do not exist in Kazakhstan - but the nature of

old/middle age, which appears not to allow people to

occupy themselves fully a in scientifi c career and en-

ter intellectual activities to a full extent.

Thus, in general all levels of formal education have op-

portunities for the elderly to receive supplementary edu-

cation or earn a degree in a second major. However, the

extent to which the elderly use such opportunities will

depend on a number of factors, especially those linked

with their fi nancial situation, as well as motivation and

perception of studying, all of which currently tend to re-

strain the elderly from using educational services. For

example, the student must cover fully or partly the cost

of study at secondary professional or higher education

institutions - whether state or private. Similarly, only

students who have received grants or loans can study

at university for free and the elderly generally do not

know their rights or insuffi ciently use the right to receive

grants and fi nancial aid. The prevailing perception there-

fore is that they will have to pay for their own education


– Almaty: Statistical Agency, 2002, pp. 124,135

Insert 5.2.Historical perspectives on education for the elderly people1. In Japan special courses for the elderly were started in the 1960s. Organizations acting within the Japanese system of enlight-

enment provided various programs, from communal problems to educating women and mothers during childcare. In 1965 the

government entrusted local authorities to develop a system of further education for the elderly. From 1980 this system became

established.

2. In Denmark and Sweden national universities provide educational services for the elderly. In Denmark there are special univer-

sities for pensioners, with fi nance from private persons, ministries and local authorities.

3. In Great Britain in 1983 the Society of the Third Age was created. In 1995 it united 266 universities on England, Wales, Scotland

and Northern Ireland.

The separate local groups of the University of the Third Age are autonomous. “Education” here is understood in the broadest pos-

sible way. It includes physical training, as well as social activities, aiming to improve quality of life of the elderly. Attention is paid

to group education and innovation.

The British University of the Third Age functions without any constant fi nancial support, meaning students must be ready to solve

the problems of their institution independently.

4. In USA the concept of educating the elderly has been called ‘elderhostel’. It was developed by Martin Knowlton who was in-

spired by the atmosphere of the community he came across at European tourist bases. His idea is based on transferring this unique

atmosphere to the environment of elderly people, in order to show them new opportunities of rational and productive life in the

community. A well-planned program uniting education, travel and adventure – in the opinion of Knowlton – could involve the

elderly in education and support the process of personal development. This is a form of vacation, during which participants meet

new people, see new places and receive new knowledge. Courses are taught by staff of universities. The fi rst program took place

in summer of 1975 at the University of New Hampshire. During the 17 years of elderhostel’s existence over 170,000 people have

participated in it.


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if they decide to go to college or university. Therefore,

the real problem is not so much one of access to educa-

tion for elderly people, but rather a lack of preparedness

to continue their studies in the formal education system.

Another aspect is the demand for education among old-

er people. This, as for any age group, depends on the

motivation to study. The nature of motivation to study

changes depending on the peculiarities of the age stages

of personality development (Leontyev. A.N.). Naturally,

motivation for studies in old age is different from moti-

vation of younger students, since it is a dynamic process

conditioned by other incentives, purposes and circum-

stances. Thus, younger students tend to have an insa-

tiable need for learning (Bozhovich L.I.). At older ages

however, this need for learning depends on accumulated

life experience, the level of education, as well as mate-

rial and spiritual values. The present-day 65+ population

was confi dent in their future, since they have lived the

majority of their economically active lives within the

framework of Soviet ideology and a planned economy.

Having received education “for life” within a knowl-

edge-centered education system, they have found it dif-

fi cult to adapt to new market conditions and most have

not accumulated enough resources for a comfortable

retirement. This largely explains their inability and/or

reluctance to realize the importance and relevance - for

themselves and for society - of lifelong education. This

all contributes to lack of demand for education among

present-day elderly people. However, it is not impossi-

ble that in the near future forthcoming older generations

will seek various educational services, as society chang-

es and new perceptions and needs emerge.

As discussed, many elderly people do not see the need

for relearning or supplementary education late in life.

The psychology of this kind of person is important in

this issue. People who carry out narrowly specialized

functions tend not to see themselves or their work in the

wider picture. This phenomenon manifests itself as an

inability and/or reluctance of the elderly to engage in

independent work activities in order to preserve exist-

ing living standards for themselves and their families.

Therefore, an emerging problem is the quality of educa-

tion at all levels and its compliance with contemporary

requirements and its responsiveness to the demands of

the labor market. However, the level of representation of

the elderly in education remains unknown and requires

more research.

It should be noted that there are 3,500 registered NGOs

in Kazakhstan in the education sector, one third of which

are active78. Within the framework of social projects car-

ried out by these NGOs, the issue of adult education is

considered to a varying extent, but education of the eld-

erly has yet to be considered separately.

For example, the activities of education centers of local

communities (ECLC) are developing within the frame-

work of projects of the Educational Forum of Central

Asian Republics and Kazakhstan (CARK). During its

few years of existence these centers have accumulated

78 National Plan of Action on Education for All in the Republic of

Kazakhstan – Almaty, 2003, p. 64

considerable experience in educating adults, directing

them towards improving the quality of their lives. The

fl exibility and multi-functionality of these centers al-

lows them to fulfi ll their mission to educate adults and

develop society79. However, the centers have not specifi -

cally addressed the issue of educating those aged 65 and

over. This indicates a need to identify and systematize

the issue of education in the context of the ageing of Ka-

zakhstan’s population.

5.4. EDUCATION AND AGEING

The interdependence of the ageing process and educa-

tion can be seen from different perspectives. One im-

portant aspect is the infl uence of the ageing process on the education sphere from the point of view of genera-tion succession in the sense of preserving and passing

on accumulated positive experiences and learning. This

issue is topical and signifi cant in all areas of social life.

However, it can have peculiarities in one sphere or an-

other, depending on the infl uence of various external and

internal factors. Thus, within the education sphere itself

we can see the prevalence of workers at pre-pension and

pension age, especially in the system of school educa-

tion. These phenomena are most pronounced in village

schools. A survey among teachers of more than 50 small

village schools in seven oblasts of Kazakhstan in 2001

is illustrative. Among 476 respondents the majority were

teachers aged 40–48 (32.2%), many of whom are by now

approaching retirement age. Also, only 13.7% of teach-

ers work in small village schools for 3 to 5 years80. The

reason for the current situation in small village schools

is related to decreased living standards in rural areas;

decrease of teacher’s prestige; low salaries of teachers;

lack of interest among young professionals to work in

village schools and population out-migration. All these

are due to socio-economic changes in society, strongly

felt in the 1990s in rural areas.

With the ageing of the education workforce, as with any

sector, the usual solution is to raise a new generation to

replace those retiring. This is the visible and most fa-

miliar part of the problem. However, from the point of

view of society and the education system itself, those

dropping out of the system are pedagogues-pensioners

who have offi cially fi nished their labor activities. This

issue is personal: the opportunity to use their profession-

al potential and to have an active social life as bearers of

unique life experience, and has never been considered at

government level. The process of sharing spiritual val-

ues and social experience with the younger generation

occurs spontaneously, occasionally in implicit form. The

education sector must itself be interested in using the po-

tential not only of retired teachers, but also of other older

people, in a mutually benefi cial way.

As a result, examination of education as a factor in pro-

viding conditions for using the potential of the elderly

through their involvement in active social life and in

79 Report on the 2nd Session of the Educational Forum in Central Asia and

Kazakhstan – Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, 2003, p. 24

80 National Plan of Action on Education for All in the Republic of

Kazakhstan – Almaty, 2003. p. 14


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productive work activities is topical and urgent. At this

stage, we should examine education from two aspects.

Firstly, education should create a favorable environment

for adaptation of the elderly to the new realities of living

after retirement and an appropriate educational environ-

ment if they are willing to acquire new practical skills in

order to engage in new labor activities. This means pro-

viding the elderly various types of educational services

of formal and informal character. This system structure

is sometimes known as ‘university of the third age’.

Secondly, education is a means for developing readiness

among elderly people for work and active social life

through acquiring important skills throughout their lives.

This means that the contents of education at all levels

should prepare all generations, including the elderly, for

labor and social activities for the benefi t of their country.

Thus, three key aspects of the interrelation between edu-

cation and the ageing process emerge:

• role of the elderly in carrying out succession of

generation in terms of preserving and sharing

spiritual values and social experience;

• potential of the elderly as bearers of profession-

al experience of organizing labor activities for

broadening opportunities of the country’s labor

forces;

• involvement of the elderly in active social life for

dealing with issues within their communities.

This analysis allows us to concretize possible problems

within the system itself, solutions of which can lessen

the risks of alienation of the older population, and may

increase their motivation for an active life.

Three groups of issues connected to the educational

structure and contents of education, the organization of

teaching and managing of the educational process of the

elderly are worth highlighting.

First group of issues:

• fl exibility of the structure of formal education to

satisfy educational needs of the elderly;

• acceptability of the structure of informal educa-

tional services for the elderly;

• availability of levels of formal education and sup-

plementary educational services for the elderly.

Second group of issues:

• orientation of course contents towards develop-

ing skills and competencies that are relevant for

the elderly for an economically active life, partic-

ipation in family and society, providing voluntary

services, self-expression in arts;

• course for the elderly, providing for their involve-

ment in active social life through creation and so-

lution of projects;

• in universities, absence of departments for the

preparation of specialists who will study prob-

lems of ageing and form policies of research, ad-

ministration of the solution process.

Third group of issues:

• structures to coordinate procedures to identify

and satisfy educational needs;

• suffi cient marketing services for supplementary

education for the elderly.

Measures taken to address these issues will help create

an integrated and functioning system of education for

the elderly, which will allow the educational sphere to

react appropriately and promptly to the ageing process.

Education of the elderly, as a component of the continu-

ing education system, was traditionally part of education

for adults. Considering differences in the status of the

elderly at the age of 65 and older, it seems more appro-

priate to study education of the elderly as a distinct ele-

ment of the continuing education system. This step to

understanding of the education system for the elderly is

shown by new interpretation of the “continuing educa-

tion” concept, in which special emphasis is placed on

lifelong education.

5.5 EDUCATION AS A FACTOR IN BUILDING OLDER PEOPLE’S CAPACITY

Education as a whole, as a system of values, process and result must help to create suitable conditions for elderly

people in terms of fulfi lling their wishes and aspirations

to enhance their life experience and educational level.

The starting point for this must be the attractiveness of

educational initiatives for the elderly. Benefi ts to indi-

viduals, including to elderly people, bring benefi ts to

society as a whole. In this context, education acts as a

medium between society and elderly people.

For studying this interrelation and making decisions ac-

cordingly, the basis is the life, professional and social

experience of the elderly population. Within the frame-

work of these interrelations, education acts as a factor in the development of the potential of the elderly. As was

noted above, there are three aspects of the interrelation

of education with the population ageing process, which

should be explored in order to identify certain steps for

their solution.

In examining the role of the elderly in carrying out the

succession of generations attention should focus our on

two points:

• the value of education in formation and devel-

opment of a person as an individual throughout

the entire life of the elderly. Every person, using

the opportunities of education realizes his/her in-

tellectual and spiritual potential for his/her own

benefi t and reaches the top of his/her own under-

standing of the meaning of life;

• the value of an elderly person as an individual,

with certain unique life experiences. Social expe-

rience, gained by everyone at different stages of

development, which manifests itself in personal

and professional qualities, becomes of value

not only for the person, but also for society as a

whole.


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These two points clearly present education as a factor for

social progress and the development of humanity.

This understanding of the elderly must serve as the ba-

sis for using their potential opportunities not only for

providing fi nancial support, but also for improving their

quality of life in general. At the same time, by improving

living standards through satisfying various social and

cultural needs, the elderly interact with different social

groups, bringing benefi ts to society as a whole.

Social and labor activity of the elderly as whole will ben-

efi t sustainable development of various spheres of soci-

ety, as well as strengthen the structure of civil society.

What may prevent this from happening? In general, the

absence of mobility in changing conditions and effec-

tively responding to an existing situation after offi cial

retirement or ageing. In turn, this is related to lack of

a broader range of skills, for example communication,

information search and analysis, group working, writing

projects and problem-solving. Such competencies have

generally not been developed at the various stages of

education throughout the entire life. What are the rea-

sons for this?

The current population aged 65 and older has second-

ary and vocational education of various levels, usually

gained in the 1960s when the main goal of education was

to form the personality and provide a certain educational

level for the society and labor market of that time. Edu-

cationalists of the time addressed the questions of what and how to teach.81

In deciding what to teach, the contents of education were

identifi ed. At each educational level this was presented

as a description of the system of scientifi c knowledge,

abilities and skills (KAS) by scientifi c fi elds.

In addressing how to teach, a methodology was created,

aiming to pass prepared educational information from

teacher to students. This knowledge-centered methodol-

ogy, still used today, established the basis for the intel-

lectual potential of today’s elderly, largely determining

their level of activity. The elderly therefore generally

have enough narrowly specialized knowledge, but have

diffi culty using, multiplying and restructuring it for

their own benefi t in changing conditions after retire-

ment: focusing on accumulating quantitative knowledge

throughout the entire period of education is not condu-

cive to creativity. For the elderly person who strives to

not only preserve but enhance their level of prosperity,

the entire life and work becomes art. Here we should

remember L.N. Kogan, who pointed out that a person is

a cultural value himself and “the most important part of

this value is his creative ability”82. Subject knowledge

is necessary but suffi cient for creativity. A person also

needs the knowledge of means and actions for their use

in real life for solving essential life problems. The aggre-

gate of these actions forms abilities and skills of a wider

spectrum, now known as competencies. These transform

knowledge, abilities and skills from “dead capital” into a

functioning, animated state.

81 Ungraded schools: problems and perspectives – Almaty, 2002.

82 Development of adult education. Actual data. Ministry of Enlightenment

and Sciences of Sweden, p.78. www.regerinden.sc

The process of transformation of traditional knowledge-

centered into competency-oriented education can be ob-

served in present-day conditions. In Kazakhstan it has

been recorded in major documents outlining educational

policy83. The principal difference is that the contents of

education will be structured based on expected outcomes,

presented in a form of a system of goals formulated on a

note of competency.

These new guidelines in reforming the system of contin-

uing education help to identify an approach to structur-

ing the contents of education for all generations, includ-

ing the elderly, starting from expected outcomes. The

desired outcomes are a list of competencies required for

procedural organization of educational basis of any level,

and in the case of education for the elderly, for contents

of a supplementary course. In other words, an expected

outcome is a predictable goal, on which the contents of

both educational levels and separate courses are based.

Therefore, the initial points in organizing education are

not the contents themselves, but a list of competencies

defi ned by examining the demands of the labor market

and the educational needs of the elderly.

Thus, the system of formal education should provide a

fl exible response to the evolving needs of the elderly.

However, this is only part of the problem. Passivity of

the elderly is connected not only to infl exibility of the

educational system, but also to the contents and means

of receiving basic education at previous stages of life.

Educational content, from schools to universities, ac-

quired during “education for life” often loses its impor-

tance for the person at an older age. This knowledge may

not be suffi cient for the elderly for activities in complete-

ly new situations, which manifests itself in the inertness

of their behavior, passivity and infl exibility. It is there-

fore necessary to change fundamentally the approach to

structuring the content of all levels of formal education.

The labor market and social participation of the elderly

of the future will depend on this change, as they face the

inevitable stage of their lives – old age. From the posi-

tion of contemporary elderly people, this approach will

help to structure the contents of educational services by

regulating the correlation between goals and results.

Thus, education is a major factor in forming and devel-

oping the spiritual and intellectual potential of any per-

son throughout his/her entire life and facilitating a com-

fortable, dignifi ed retirement. In terms of the problem of

education in the context of population ageing, education

for all generations is essential. Proactive measures of a

long-term character are required to improve the quality

of education for all generations, with a certain measure

directed to the elderly specifi cally.

At this stage in Kazakhstan a set of measures on the

preparation and introduction of a new model of educa-

tion is being implemented. The model is outcome-ori-

ented, as a condition for improving the quality of all

levels of education. In particular, in school education,

the introduction of a 12-year education model is planned

83 1) Concept of education development in Republic of Kazakhstan till 2015,

2) State program on education development in Republic of Kazakhstan for

2005-2010


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in 2008. It is based on a competency approach fi rst for-

mulated in the Concept of Education Development until

2015 in RK and recorded in a State Program of educa-

tion development for 2005-2010. This document high-

lights the development of other levels of education as

well. The conceptual bases of education development in

Kazakhstan, adopted at this stage, helps to expand work

of an organized, relevant and administrative character,

which is directed not only toward the quality of educa-

tion for all generations but also towards the problem of

education for those aged 65 and older. Thus, in order for

Kazakhstan’s education to support the development of

the elderly it is necessary to take actions towards the fol-

lowing:

• society’s realization of the importance of educa-

tion for the elderly as a factor for mutual enrich-

ment with material and spiritual value both on

individual and societal levels;

• reinforcing government attention for supporting

prolongation of their economic and social activi-

ties;

• society’s and government’s realization of their

responsibilities for creating conditions for estab-

lishing equal opportunities for the elderly to re-

ceive supplementary education;

• creating conditions for organizing education for

the elderly.

These goals may act as strategic guidelines for creating

functioning of systems of education for the elderly and

allow an action plan to be drawn up.

Considering the opportunity of examining the philoso-

phy of educating the elderly as an independent scientifi c

problem, use of the following practice-oriented steps is

recommended:

1. Development of a conceptual basis and normative-

legal basis of education for the elderly where functions

of the system must be outlined in aspects of:

• education for their adaptation to a market econo-

my and globalization

• education for sharing of accumulated social ex-

perience with younger generations;

• education for their development and readiness to

participate in economic and social activities.

2. Creation of an integrated system of education for the

elderly through:

• improvement of mechanisms to introduce supple-

mentary educational services into the structure of

formal education;

• managing structures of information on education-

al services and their coordination;

• creation and implementation of a series of projects

using the potential of informal education for the

elderly as conditions for developing their motiva-

tion towards learning and active participation in

social life.

3. Creation of an educational structure in universities

(self-learning or extracurricular courses) preparing spe-

cialists for researching various aspects of the ageing

process, forming policies and administrating ageing-re-

lated problem-solving, coordinating procedures of iden-

tifi cation and satisfaction of educational needs of elderly

people.

4. Development of approaches to identifying the sys-

tem of anticipated results as a base for developing vari-

ous educational courses for the elderly.

5. Development of technologies for educating the eld-

erly, focused on interactivity of the education process

and providing study in streams, groups or individually,

using possibilities for distance learning.

6. Organization of project competition and their in-

troduction within frameworks of informal education,

popularizing values of education of the elderly from the

perspectives of: value of education in formation of an in-

dividual and value of an individual as a bearer of unique

life experience.

7. Organization of project competition and their intro-

duction within frameworks of informal education, direct-

ed towards involvement of the elderly in social activities

and solving community problems; sharing experience of

the elderly in self-expression in art and organization of

various activities that bring not only material but also a

spiritual input into lives of family and society.


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ELDERLY PEOPLE IN THE POLITICAL AND SOCIAL LIFE OF THE COUNTRY

CHAPTER 6


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The extent to which age may infl uence the level of po-

litical and social activity of the population can be docu-

mented in the nature of political and social culture and

the specifi cs of political socialization, which include the

following components:

• awareness of and interest in politics and social

life;

• trust in political and social institutions;

• political and social participation84.

The last of these is the key factor. In Kazakhstan, the

most vivid political and social participation of citizens

is expressed in:

• party identifi cation and membership of political

parties;

• activity within public organizations;

• electoral preferences.

The political socialization of the general population of

present-day elderly citizens of Kazakhstan took place

in the Soviet Union in late 1930s – 1950s, i.e. a period

when the Soviet system strived to maintain the loyalty of

society by demonstrating material achievements and sat-

isfying consumer interests. Formed at that time, cultural-

political norms and stereotypes of behavior resulted from

adaptation to demands of the system. Population ageing

in Kazakhstan today means an increase in the number of

people who have gone through socialization in differ-

ent times and therefore have different political and social

behavioral values.

6.1 AGE-SPECIFIC INDICATORS OF POLITICAL AND SOCIAL ACTIVITY OF THE POPULATION

Political awareness and interest in politics. Kazakhstan’s

elderly are usually politicized, willing to discuss politi-

cal events with family members, friends and neighbors.

The majority of elderly people regularly read news-

papers, listen to informational programs on the radio,

watch news on TV: constant interest in political life is

claimed by about 57% of elderly respondents85. Elderly

people often state that political issues concern and affect

them personally.

Unlike representatives of the older generation, people

aged 40-50 show fewer signs of political interest. They

often think that their personal well-being is connected

with political events happening in the country and

abroad. The important factor is that people of this age are

actively involved in the economic life of the country.

Trust in political and social institutions. The present day

older population of Kazakhstan regard political institu-

84 Almond A.G., Verba S. The Civic Culture: Political Attitudes and

Democracy in Five Nations. Boston, 1963.

85 Results of sociological research conducted by the department of

politology and ethno-sociology, Institute of Phylosophy and Politology

of the Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Kazakhstan,

within frameworks of project “Perspectives of forming civil society

in Kazakhstan in contents of transforming of political system and

political culture” (partly published in “Institututional and socio-cultural

prerequisites of civil society in Kazakhstan// Problems of formation of

civil society in Kazakhstan. Almaty: Publishing centre of the Institute of

Phylosophy and Politology of Ministry of Education and Science of the

Republic of Kazakhstan, 2002, pp 5-11). Further – Project “Perspectives of

formation of civil society in Kazakhstan.”

tions with considerable trust in comparison with peo-

ple of middle and younger age. Often their discontent

is caused by specifi c individuals – representatives of a

political institution, but not the institution itself (Majilis,

government, court, police, local authorities). This am-

bivalent perception of the situation causes considerable

uncertainty in evaluation of the acting regime. According

to data of “COMCON-2 Eurasia”86, the majority of re-

spondents who were unsure whether or not the results of

Majilis elections were falsifi ed, were people aged 65 and

older (38.5%). At the same time, elderly people take an

optimistic position on the effectiveness of Majilis’ work

– 66.7% of them think that its work will give positive

results. Even more optimistic is attitude towards Majilis

among respondents at 18-34 age range, 70% of whom

consider its work to be positive. However, the majority

of those who will be elderly by 2015 were considerably

more pessimistic, with only about 55% considering Ma-

jilis’ potential as positive.

The elderly have much lower levels of trust towards re-

forms, such as modifi cation of the pensions and privi-

leges systems. Elderly people view critically reforms

conducted since independence. However, this negative

attitude is caused not by the idea of reform, but by their

methods of implementation. Most discontent is caused

by the results of social policy, with 53.6% of elderly peo-

ple expressing dissatisfaction with their lives87. The idea

of reform itself is more widely supported by the urban

rather than rural population.

Present-day elderly people have little or no experience of

working with effective public associations and organiza-

tions. Organizations of this kind (e.g. labor unions) that

existed in Soviet Union, were, as a rule, viewed negative-

ly: it was thought that their activities were aimed at sup-

porting their respective organizers and not giving anything

to their rank and fi le members. This perception is often

transferred to present-day public associations and organi-

zations working in Kazakhstan, for example the “Poko-

lenie” movement and Central Council of Organization of

Veterans of Republic of Kazakhstan88, which mostly play

little more than an allocation-registration role.

On the whole, trust in public associations and organiza-

tions among elderly people is considerably lower than

their trust in political institutions.

Thus, the political culture of the elderly appears not to be

a highly ideologized one with strong socialist or commu-

nist values. Although the older generation for the most

part idealizes the period before the start of political and

economic transformations of the mid-1980s, these pref-

erences are motivated both by ideology (social justice,

equality, equal access to benefi ts such as quality health-

care and education) and by material benefi ts such as low

stable prices, merited pension and social privileges.

86 Attitute of the population to passed elections to Mazhilis Parliament of the

Republic of Kazakhstan. Almaty: COMCON-2 Eurasia, 2004.

87 Project “Perspectives of formation of civil society in Kazakhstan”.

88 See, for example, evaluation of work of Central Council of Veterans’

Organization in the Republic of Kazakhstan: Analytical review of

discussion club “Polyton” On problems of veterans of WW2// http://www.

club.kz/index.php?mod=analitics&submod=self&article=278 (retrieved on

29.04.2005).


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The purposes and values of people entering the older

generation by 2015, whose socialization happened much

later, will change. Unlike the current older generation,

only a minority of 40-50 year olds express their trust in

existing political institutions. They are more likely to

approve of the ideas of liberal-democracy and market

changes in the country. Thus, loyalty to the idea of re-

form is combined with distrust towards acting political

institutions, and a sense that everything is made “kind of

wrong” – among this age group dissatisfaction with life

was already expressed by about 67 per cent. Such distrust

spreads not only to acting politicians, but also to the in-

stitutionalized system. The contemporary population of

Kazakhstan at the age of 45-50 has a more positive ex-

perience of work with public associations and organiza-

tions, has skills for effective protection of their interests

(especially economical) exactly through these structures

rather than through political structures. Thus, regarding

this perspective the elderly are likely to develop more

trust towards public associations and organizations. Peo-

ple aged 40-50 also have a rich and positive experience

with NGOs (national and international), which may help

them in future to solve their economic and social prob-

lems more effectively.

Political and social participation. One of the distinct

features of politico-cultural norms of present-day elderly

people in Kazakhstan is their tendency towards active

political and social participation89. Of the possible forms

of political participation we can highlight the following:

• conventional participation (voting);

• non-conventional participation (meetings, dem-

onstrations, protest campaigns)90.

Usually, the older generation is more inclined towards

conventional participation, with elderly people inclined

to express themselves as “active electorate”, thinking

that meetings and protest campaigns are not effective

ways of struggle91. Voting is part of their way of life,

a habit acquired during primary political socialization.

89 Bahry D., Way L. Citizen Activism in the Russian Transition// Post-Soviet

Affairs. 1994. Vol. 10.

90 Political Action: Mass Participation in Five Western Democracies. Beverly

Hills, 1979; Miller E.N. Aggressive Political Participation. Princeton,

1979.

91 Bahry D., Way L. Citizen Activism in the Russian Transition// Post-Soviet

Affairs. 1994. Vol. 10.

Thus, according to “COMCON-2 Eurasia”92, the share

of the population that participated in the Majilis elec-

tions, increased with age, with 71.8% of over 65s voting.

Participation of persons aged 55-64 was nearly the same,

at 73.8%. Among those who will make up the major-

ity of the older generation in the next 30 years, electoral

participation rates decrease signifi cantly: 56.6% of peo-

ple aged 45-54 and 52.4% of people in the 35-40 age

group.

Moreover, voting more often attracts those who lack the

resources needed for more “expensive” forms of politi-

cal participation, such as membership of political par-

ties. In conditions of Kazakhstan today the only excep-

tion to this is the organized part of the elderly population

(e.g. “Pokolenie” movement). A high level of conven-

tional political participation is seen among elderly peo-

ple even if they only weakly believe in the possibility

of real infl uence on decision-making. This shows the

peculiarities of motivation for participating: the action

itself is important, not necessarily its content. However,

some sociological research93 shows that a considerable

part (43%) of the contemporary older population is con-

vinced that collective action of the population can lead to

the reversal or change of bad decisions of the authorities.

Among 40-50 year olds only 32% of respondents believe

this to be the case.

What are the features of electoral participation of the

elderly?

Usually, it is thought that pro-communist forces have

high popularity among the elderly and undoubtedly there

are some grounds for this opinion. By supporting com-

munists in elections, the elderly strive to express their

protest against methods of reform in Kazakhstan. In the

minds of elderly citizens the Communist Party is associ-

ated with political power, since during its era their lives

were more stable and successful - about 71% of elderly

people think that in Soviet times there was more justice

than now94. At the same time the ideological motives for

supporting the communists often fades to the background,

giving space to expectations from the government of

well-planned and purposeful socio-economic policy to-

wards the elderly people, instead of one-off campaigns

(paternalistic model). Evaluating the real electorate of

the current Communist Party of Kazakhstan is diffi cult

as at the last election (Majilis election of 2004) the party

formed a coalition with the party Democratic Choice of

Kazakhstan. Presumably, the electorate of the Commu-

nists is about 16% of people aged 65 and over.

Gradually, the place of the Communist Party, among the

priorities of the elderly, is being taken by pro-govern-

ment parties. On the one hand, these reproduce the pater-

nalistic model of interaction with the older generation.

On the other hand, to a greater or lesser degree they rep-

resent stability. Thus, the electorate of the “Otan” party

includes 11% of all elderly people, “Asar” – 15% and

block “Aist” – 20%.

92 Attitude of the population to passed elections to Majilis of the Parliament

of Republic of Kazakhstan, Almaty, COMCON-2 Eurasia, 2004.


94 Ibid.

Insert 6.1.Movement of social protection for pensioners “Pokolenie” (Generation), Republican movement of pensionersThe organization was offi cially registered on November 24, 1992.

Chair – Savostina Irina Alekseevna. The main goal – social pro-

tection of pensioners during the transition period, lobbying their

interests, cooperation in providing pensioners with medical sup-

plies and services. Methods include appearance in mass media

and protest campaigns against violations of pensioners’ rights. In

May 1998 “Pokolenie” appealed to pensioners to hold peaceful

meetings on central squares of the cities of Kazakhstan on the 30th

of every month, in order to attract attention to their situation. The

movement calls on pensioners to vote in elections and referen-

dums and to act as voluntary observers during polls. Currently

Pokolenie is supported by about 2 million elderly people and there

is no upper limit on membership. It has several dozen activists

working in Almaty and branches in other regions.


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In general, the political views of elderly people in Ka-

zakhstan are of a moderately centrist character (see. Ta-

ble 6.1).

Table 6.1. Socio-demographic characteristics of elec-torate of leading political parties, 2004, by age, % of supporters of each party (block, union)95

Age Otan Asar Ak Zhol AIST (block)

CPK and DCK

(union)18–24 12,50 19,32 21,05 9,09 8,11

25–36 20,00 25,00 19,08 12,73 13,51

35–44 24,79 15,91 26,32 21,82 18,92

45–54 17,71 13,64 11,84 23,64 27,03

55–64 13,96 10,80 9,87 12,73 16,22

Above 65 11,04 15,34 11,84 20,00 16,22

Any assessment of changes in electoral trends with regard

to population ageing must consider both the current political

preferences of people aged 40-50 and the effectiveness of

economic and political reforms conducted in Kazakhstan.

Considerably lower is organized social participation

among the elderly. Sociological data shows that the

elderly practically do not participate in work of NGOs:

trust of civil associations and NGOs was expressed by

only 25% of elderly respondents, and open distrust by

43%96). Reasons for mistrust of public associations and

organizations were mentioned above. Meanwhile, the

elderly tend to participate actively in the resolution of

concrete social issues, for example related to their own

dacha (summer house) or local KSK (housing associa-

tion). Also, temporary initiative groups may be formed

and then disintegrate as the goal is achieved. Since eld-

erly people have rich life experience and practical skills

in their work, they could spread their experience and

knowledge among children through various neighbor-

hood and interest clubs. This is a topical issue, as un-

planned children’s leisure time is the primary cause of

juvenile delinquency and drug abuse. This kind of activ-

ity, therefore, could satisfy the elderly’s need for sociali-

zation without being a burden on their health.

Present-day 40-50 year olds will also change their pref-

erences as they reach old age. On the whole, people

aged 40-50 are more passive politically than the elderly.

Political apathy is, on one hand, a result of low loyalty

typical for the political culture of this age group. The in-

effectiveness of the system decreases willingness to sup-

port it in “conventional” ways, e.g. voting at elections.

On the other hand, political apathy is also related to the

active involvement of 40-50 year olds in the economic

processes and need to “make ends meet”.

6.2 ANALYSIS OF PROGRAMS OF POLITICAL PARTIES FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF OLDER PEOPLE’S INVOLVEMENT

The high level of political participation among the eld-

erly, must, in terms of political theory, be an indication

95 Elections of 2004 in Kazakhstan: step by step. Monographic collection.

Under edition of G.T.Ileuova, D.R.Ashimbayeva, Almaty, “Credo”, 2004.

p. 280


of adequate electoral policy of Kazakhstan’s political

parties. However, if in the West political parties usually

appear to be based on defi ned group interests, in Ka-

zakhstan their creation may be associated with aspects

of social structure. The previous social system was de-

stroyed rapidly, while new social structures and corre-

sponding groups and layers do not form as quickly as

reformers might wish.

The amorphous and atomized nature of contemporary

Kazakhstan society, as well as the uncertainty, ambiguity

and mobility of new social groups and layers consider-

ably slows down the formation of a social basis of party

structures. Partly due to this, political parties in Kaza-

khstan do not conduct focused electoral policies, includ-

ing one oriented towards the elderly.

To prove this hypothesis research was conducted on the

programs of political parties of Kazakhstan based on

content analysis. As the main category of analysis, ideas

were taken, which characterized political, economic and

social problems. This allowed defi nition of the priorities

of party positioning, aimed at attracting potential sup-

porters from among the elderly.

Most Kazakhstan parties pronounce themselves as par-

ties of the people. Therefore, their social base is blurred

and relying on certain social groups as part of position-

ing of political parties, cannot serve as a defi ning crite-

rion for parties’ identifi cation of the elderly.

Similar diffi culties occur in relation to goals and values

that are defi ned in party program documentation. The

goals of parties APK, CNPK, CPK and DCK propose

moving towards a society of freedom and social justice,

with a society of equal opportunities. Strengthening and

development of state systems is the goal of CPK, DPK,

Auyl. Parties as Ak Zhol, Rukhaniyat, Otan and Asar

have defi ned as their goals the building of a democratic

state and society. As such, in their various formulations

practically all political parties support the ‘democratic’

development of the Republic. Thus, in accordance with

their manifestos all Kazakhstan’s parties can be described

as parties with a democratic orientation. The same pic-

ture appears in terms of defi ning values. Often, in the

programs of Kazakhstan’s parties values such as inde-

pendence, democracy, freedom, justice and solidarity

are mentioned. Thus, Ak Zhol mentions independence,

democracy, freedom and fairness. DPK – freedom, law,

fairness and consent. Otan – freedom, fairness, solidar-

ity, equity and brotherhood. Asar – prosperity, freedom,

fairness and solidarity. Auyl – freedom, fairness and

solidarity. However, exactly these values are the basis of

socio-democratic values.

In these conditions of parties’ ambiguous expression

of ideological preferences, conventional classifi ca-

tions “left – center – right” do not work in Kazakhstan.

We can only speak of ideological orientation of a very

narrow circle of parties and this undoubtedly hinders

electoral choice. In conditions of ambiguity, ideo-

logical distinctions between political parties play an

important role for the elderly in particular, who have

preserved their ideological preferences for Marx-

ist-Leninist theory (i.e. identifying themselves with


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CNPK and CPK). At the same time, liberal ideas have

rooted themselves with, fi rst of all, those social groups

that managed to learn the new rules of the game and

adapt themselves to new conditions. Present-day eld-

erly people of Kazakhstan, in general do not belong

to this group of the electorate. However, no doubt

that situation will change with the ageing of younger

generations – when the basic mass of elderly people

will consist of present-day 40-50 year olds, who have

accepted or adapted to liberal-democratic values and

behaviors.

Party programs in general are structured by sections that

correspond to basic spheres of vital activities of soci-

ety: political, economic and social. The contents of these

program sections allow the electorate to evaluate the po-

sitions and priorities of parties.

Analysis of political positioning of parties allows three

groups to be defi ned:

• CPK, CNPK, DCK (rapid transition to concrete

and far-reaching reform of the political system);

• Ak Zhol, PPK, Auyl (gradual reform of political

systems);

• Otan, CPK, APK, Asar, Rukhaniyat, DPK (sup-

port for the existing order, with slight changes in

the political sphere).

Often however, the practical actions of the parties not

only do not prove, but on the contrary seem to refute the

priorities expressed in the programs. This further hin-

ders the process of party identifi cation for the electorate,

including elderly people. One of the factors within the

structure of political dispositions for the elderly can be

contrasting the image of the acting authorities and the

society. In this sense, the most attractive for them would

appear to be the programs of opposition parties: DCK,

CPK, CNPK, Ak Zhol.

The greatest attention to economic issues was given

in the programs of APK and Auyl, for whom a signifi -

cant focus is agricultural and rural development. To

a lesser degree, economic issues are touched upon in

the programs of other parties. At the same time, the

programs of most parties have sections on the neces-

sity of increasing the role of the state in regulating the

economy, as well as the need to liberalize and diver-

sify the economy. Since elderly people are generally

less actively involved in the economic process, when

identifying political preferences economic aspects of

party programs can only be signifi cant in conjunction

with social priorities. This is also explained by the fact

that realization of some liberal projects not only failed

to improve living standards, but also caused negative

social consequences. Therefore, most older people sup-

port a secure, powerful state, social welfare and guar-

antees.

The social aspects of party programs are the most rel-

evant for the elderly electorate, since they touch upon

their everyday interests. Almost all parties pay atten-

tion to the social expectations of the elderly in their pro-

grams. (See Table 6.2.)

Table 6. 2. Positioning of social expectations of pen-sioners in program documents of political parties of Kazakhstan97

№ Party Меры, направленные на осуществление социальных ожиданий пенсионеров

1 APK N/A

2 CPK

Amount of pension payments is defi ned not by the

date of retirement, but a person’s seniority. We as-

sume the possibility of returning to the question of

pension provision for workers of hard (list 2) and

severely hard (list 1) professions. If regarding list

1 there was some compromise in the form of state

aid, list 2 was left without proper attention. We sug-

gest introducing special aid to workers, included in

list 2, who have reached the age of 48 (women) and

53 (men), who worked in these professions for 20

years or more.

3 Ak Zhol

Special attention must be given to pensioners,

providing a system of pension provision that con-

sists of: aid by age given to every citizen who has

reached retirement age, regardless of previous la-

bor activities or pension savings; pension payments

from solidarity and/or obligatory saving systems;

pension payments from voluntary pension savings

4 DCK

Party will strive to achieve improved levels of so-

cial protection to certain groups on low incomes –

pensioners, mothers with many children, disabled.

Double, as a minimum, the amount of pensions and

social aid. Return to the previous retirement ages

of 60 years for men, 55 for women.

5 DPK

Adapt existing legislation to the interests of so-

cially vulnerable groups (unemployed, pensioners,

disabled). Create control over transparency and

legitimacy of state organs during entitlement and

payment of addressed social aid.

6 Auyl Strengthening social protection of pensioners.

7 CNPKFully restore the social sphere: supported retire-

ment. Actively support veteran organizations.

8 CPKStruggle for protection of women, children, elderly

and family as a whole.

9 PPK

Improving the life of pensioners. Conducting in-

dexing of pensions and aid for disabled and other

needy citizens.

10 Rukhaniyat

Directing budget expenditures towards increasing

the amount and timely payments of pensions, aid,

grants, salaries to state workers, calculated from

the amount of minimum living wage.

11 Otan

Addressed help to socially vulnerable groups

– people in need, pensioners. Creation of digni-

fi ed life for elderly people by means of guaranteed

social, medical and everyday services, supportive

atmosphere for their treatment with respect.

12 AsarCreating conditions of dignifi ed life of elderly peo-

ple.

Thus, analysis of the manifestos of Kazakhstan’s main

political parties leads to a conclusion that practically all

parties aspire to use the political activity of the elderly in

their own interests. However, at the same time parties do

not have focused policies, including those oriented to-

wards the elderly. As the 40-50 year age group approach

pension age, and are oriented not only to the social con-

sequences of political and economic changes, but also

on the mechanism itself, this position of political parties

will not be suffi cient and may lead to greater political

alienation of forthcoming older generations.

97 Guide to programs of political parties of Republic of Kazakhstan, Almaty,

“Litan”, 2004; Buluktayev Y.O., Chebortayev A.E. Political parties of

Kazakhstan, 2004, Directory, Almaty “Complex” printing house, 2004


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6.3 NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL NGOS AND DONORS FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF OLDER PEOPLE’S INVOLVEMENT

Main NGOs/donors in Kazakhstan can be divided into

fi ve groups:

(1) donors of UN system;

(2) international fi nancial institutions;

(3) state-donors and their donor programs;

(4) international non-governmental organizations;

(5) national non-governmental organizations.

Analysis of distribution of free (grant) donor help by sec-

tors by the international community shows that one prior-

ity area of cooperation is administration (democratic and

rights reforms, institution and capacity building, policy

advice) which accounts for 47% of the total amount. Sec-

ond by amount is support for economic reforms (41%).

Seven percent is allocated to environmental protection,

3% to poverty reduction and 1% to gender issues98.

A slightly different picture emerges in relation to aid in the

form of loans. Here, the priority directions are economic

reform (49%), management support (39%), poverty re-

duction (9%) and environmental protection (3%)99.

In the fi rst group of donors, institutions and programs

working within the framework of the UN are empha-

sized. Donors of the UN system cooperate with Kaza-

khstan within four strategic priority areas:

• public security and human development;

• management (reforms on central and local levels,

reforms of the police);

• democratization and enhancement of partici-

pation (support for the development of gender

programs, programs on human rights, support to

NGOs and civil society);

• environmental protection.

In the second group of donors are the World Bank,

EBRD, ADB and IDB. Issues of ageing are touched upon

indirectly by these donors, in relation to issues such as

healthcare and pension reforms, social protection, sup-

port for non-extractive industries and small and medium

entrepreneurship, analysis of poverty problems.

In the third group are the following state donors: in par-

ticular EU member countries and USA.

Among the fourth group are donors working on the

territory of Kazakhstan, such as International Fund to

Save the Aral Sea, Conrad Adenawer Fund, Soros-Kaza-

khstan, Friedrich Ebert Fund, Eurasia and others. These

organizations do not have special programs focused on

work with the elderly, but do realize projects indirectly

connected with problems of the elderly, or conduct one-

off campaigns supporting the elderly. For example, in

2004 Zhambyl oblast’s public association “Center for

Justice” received a grant from Soros-Kazakhstan for

improving the quality of decisions made on authority

level (executive and legislative) with consideration of

citizens’ opinions - especially pensioners - by organizing

a dialogue between pensioners and political parties, in

98 Assistance to Kazakhstan. Almaty: UNDP, 2003. P. 19.

99 Ibid P. 19-20.

order to increase the level of trust towards the govern-

ment and improving pensioners’ well-being.

Volunteer programs providing help to the elderly in need

are relatively well-developed. The idea of volunteering

is actively used not only by public organizations and

funds, but also by government structures. For example,

in summer of 2005 in Taldykorgan, with a grant from the

Almaty Oblast Akim, a project named “Developing the

volunteer movement among the youth for social support

of the needy” began implementation. Its goal is to pro-

vide single elderly citizens, veterans of labor and WW2

with legal, social, psychological and humanitarian help.

University and vocational school students and unem-

ployed youth participate in realization of the project.

Thus, it appears that none of the international organiza-

tions/donors directly support the elderly in Kazakhstan.

Indirect support does occur, however, through poverty

reduction and gender initiatives, for example. This may

be explained by the fact that donors’ and international

organizations’ programs are primarily aimed at the eco-

nomically active population.

The fi fth group is national NGOs. Signifi cant among these

are organizations whose goal is either direct work with the

elderly, for example the Central Council of Organization

of Veterans of the Republic of Kazakhstan, local councils

of war veterans and pensioners, “Pokolenie”, public asso-

ciation “Ardager”. Others work indirectly to solve prob-

lems of certain social, economic or environmental issues

(e.g. public association “Baspana”, Association of victims

of political repression, etc). Social support and charity

help for the elderly - primarily pensioners - is also provid-

ed by labor unions. In this situation, charity help usually

happens for Victory Day and Day of the Elderly.

Unfortunately, recording the level of participation of the

elderly people in the work of NGOs is not possible due

to an absence of relevant statistics.

6.4 GOVERNMENTAL AGENCIES FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF OLDER PEOPLE’S INVOLVEMENT

In general, Kazakhstan lacks a targeted state policy to-

wards older people, and a corresponding legislative and

institutional basis that would unite state actions both on

national and regional levels.

This is mostly due to the fact that in Kazakhstan age dif-

ferences among the population are not highlighted, al-

though to some extent youth is an exception. Attention is

put mostly on other criteria such as form of employment

and ability to work, fi nancial well-being, certain group

or individual achievements. Based on these criteria the

older population falls into such groups as pensioners,

disabled workers, veterans of WW2 and others. This ap-

proach seems to be relatively justifi ed, although it con-

ceals substantial peculiarities and needs of the elderly. In

relation to the groups mentioned, a relatively full legisla-

tive base is formed, which includes such documents as:

• Law “On pension provision in the Republic of

Kazakhstan” (12.06.97)


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• Law “On state addressed social help” (17.07.2001)

• Program on poverty reduction in the Republic of

Kazakhstan for 2003-2005

• Decree of the President of the Republic of Kaza-

khstan, on validity of law, “On privileges and so-

cial protection of participants and disabled from

WW2 and persons connected to them (28.04.95,

with further amendments).

As with any list of legislative acts, the existing model in

Kazakhstan is not perfect and has faced serious criticism.

Practical realization of this model is criticized as well, as

it is burdened with bureaucratic obstacles and corrup-

tion, which cause the elderly to feel injustice and deceit

from the state bodies. However, in general this legisla-

tive base is a necessary foundation for further work.

A major problem is that there is no strategy of systemic

work with the various elderly groups, which could be di-

rected both to improvement of their living standards and

using of their social, cultural and political potential. Thus,

Kazakhstan lacks statistical data on the political and social

participation of elderly people. There are some one-off

campaigns for reform and improvement of the well-being

of certain groups of elderly people such as war veterans

and the disabled. One key issue is a lack of recording of

interests and processes of socialization of elderly people

migrating to Kazakhstan from other countries.

The distinguishing feature of the current approach to is-

sues of the elderly at the higher political level is con-

creteness and pragmatism. Positions stated in the Ad-

dress of the President of Kazakhstan to the people of

2005100, which directly concerned the older generation

are targeted fi rstly towards dignifi ed provision of life for

the most vulnerable members of society” and assumes a

program of deepening of social reforms to form a system

of providing dignifi ed retirement. In practice, this pro-

gram involves increases in the minimum pension at the

expense of additional base pension payments, i.e. fi rstly,

has socio-economic character.

Other political and cultural interests of the elderly are

not mentioned separately, but are considered as a whole

concerning citizens of Kazakhstan in a program of po-

litical reforms, which are directed to “further democra-

tization of Kazakhstan in accordance with the traditions

and principals of Western democracies and experience of

leading states of South-East Asia, with traditions of our

multi-national and multi-faith society”101.

This program assumes:

• use of the potential of the acting Constitution, con-

crete use of rights provided in the Constitution

• reform of executive power, directed towards its

decentralization, regulation and increase of its ef-

fectiveness

• strengthening authority/prestige of legislative power

• development of institutions of the court system

and strengthening of legislative protection of citi-

zens’ rights

100 Address of the President of Republic of Kazakhstan to the people of

Kazakhstan: Kazakhstan on a way to rapid economic, social and political

modernization// Kazakhstanskaya Pravda 12.02.05

101 Ibid

• development of institutions of civil society.

It is also assumed that this program will be based on dia-

logue with the entire society.

At regional level, policy of the executive authority in re-

lation to elderly people is usually of a situational charac-

ter and is linked to certain signifi cant dates and holidays.

Thus, in practically all oblasts of Kazakhstan on the 1st of

October the Day of the Elder is now celebrated. Within

the framework of this day there are free fi lms and retro-

concerts, holiday lunches and teas, and some material

support for the elderly. At the same time local akimats

actively cooperate with entrepreneurs. As a rule, large

enterprises quite actively support their veterans.

CONCLUSIONS

Present-day elderly people of Kazakhstan are character-

ized by suffi ciently high level of interest in politics and

social life. They typically display a high level of trust in

political institutions, and participate in political activity.

Their trust and involvement in civil society is considerably

lower, although elderly people possess skills and knowl-

edge that can be actively used by local communities.

The social and political peculiarities of elderly people

are not uniform and can change depending on conditions

of socialization. Population ageing in Kazakhstan will

soon lead to an increase in those elderly who experienced

socialization in other times than present-day elderly peo-

ple. Therefore, people who will enter older age by2015

will have different political and social behavioral char-

acteristics, which are likely to include considerably less

participation and trust in political institutions, and higher

levels of social and economic activity.

At government level there are few decisions that are fo-

cused on the elderly. Measures related to elderly people

are directed either at their specifi c subgroups (veterans

of WW2, disabled), or at pensioners in general (certain

social privileges). A similar approach is typical of inter-

national and national NGOs, public organizations and

associations. In many respects, the absence of a strategy

in relation to the elderly is explained by confl icts of in-

terest of various sections of society, as well as by lack

of urgency around this issue in Kazakhstan. In general,

there remains relatively little demand for the high level

of political and social activity of the elderly population

of Kazakhstan.

Insert 6.2.From address of Akim of Pavlodar city N. Chmykh to heads of enterprises, entrepreneurs, all residents of Pav-lodar. Annually 1st of October in our city became a tradition to hold

the Day of the Elderly Person, in order to help citizens of old-

er age, who happened to be below the line of poverty in our

economically tough times. I am asking you to have mercy,

humanity and compassion, give charity help to pensioners,

disabled, people in need of not only social support, but also

attention and care from society. I express hope that you will

take the problems of the older generation with a sense of deep

understanding.


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AND RECOMMENDATIONS

CONCLUSIONS


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The projected rapid ageing of Kazakhstan’s population

after 2015 necessitates action both on the part of the

government and civil society to implement the Madrid

International Plan of Action on Ageing.

When planning such actions, the following characteris-

tics of population ageing in Kazakhstan should be borne

in mind:

• the deteriorating physical, mental and emotional

health of older people demonstrated by growing

disease incidence, disability and mortality rates;

• the growing dependency of senior people on the

economically and socially active population and

declining competitive advantage of people at

(pre)retirement age on the labor market;

• the limited social participation and poor access of

older people to community benefi ts and services

and growing maladjustment and social exclusion

of the elderly;

• older people’s disorientation in today’s socio-cul-

tural context, diffi cult social communication and

lower levels of families’ responsibility in taking

care and meeting the needs of their older mem-

bers.

Ageing and vulnerability of older people neces-

sitate a common concept of national policies and social

attitudes related to the elderly to make their social en-

vironment more vibrant, improve their social and eco-

nomic security, facilitate their intellectual and cultural

fulfi llment and promote their active social participation.

It should also be remembered that issues relating to pop-

ulation ageing should be addressed as part of overall hu-

man development challenges.

Therefore, this should result in:

• better protected rights and interests of older peo-

ple;

• improved social and economic security of the eld-

erly through enhanced social security schemes;

• a network of institutions providing essential serv-

ices for seniors;

• better social and economic adjustment of older

people and enhanced social communication;

• improved coordination of government authorities

and agencies as well as non-governmental organ-

izations working with the elderly.

1. DEVELOPING NATIONAL POLICIES AND IMPLEMENTATION MECHANISMS

Due to age-related factors, older people often have dif-

fi culty adjusting to the changing social and economic

environment and require guaranteed support on the part

of the government in many spheres. Therefore, Kaza-

khstan’s social policy should focus on facilitating im-

proved living standards and quality of life for older peo-

ple and ensuring their active social participation through

better legal protection, networks of social and medical

services and provision of targeted assistance.

There is a need for a special state program to:

• improve and enhance the network of institutions

and agencies providing vitally important social

services to older people such as gerontology cent-

ers, respite services, mobile social services, inte-

grated medical and social care centers, hospices,

collective guardian boards and support clubs for

older people;

• build the capacities of healthcare agencies servic-

ing older people, hospitals for veterans, as well

as integrated medical and social services and hos-

pices;

• fi ne-tune the savings-based pension scheme and

use more widely pension asset investment tools,

further develop those entities constituting the

savings based pension scheme and encourage

voluntary and professional pension schemes;

• enhance targeted social and fi nancial assistance

and services;

• support NGOs working to protect the rights and

interests of older people and providing services

for them;

• promote better social and economic adjustment

and social communication of the elderly by in-

volving social sector organizations and NGOs, as

well as providing opportunities for older people’s

continuous education;

• support older people’s enthusiasm and integration

into today’s context through their involvement in

NGO activities and appropriate labor activity;

• ensure better access for older people to cultural,

educational, awareness-raising, advisory and rec-

reational opportunities and modern information

technologies;

• support studies into the most challenging areas of

social protection of the older generation.

The program is justifi ed by Kazakhstan’s economic

performance indicators which confi rm that Kazakhstan

is a dynamically developing economy. High economic

development rates enable an effective response to the

threats and challenges Kazakhstan is or will be facing, in

particular in terms of population ageing, thus contribut-

ing to poverty reduction and development of its human

potential.

In addition to initiatives directly focusing on older peo-

ple, action should be taken to address ageing in general,

for example by:

• increasing public expenditure on education and

health;

• sustaining national policies related to mother and

child support;

• establishing a social security scheme to guarantee

decent maintenance in old age.


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2. DEVELOPING A LEGISLATIVE FRAMEWORK

Population ageing and measures to improve older peo-

ple’s living standards and quality of life require an ad-

equate legislative framework. Since ageing has not yet

been recognized as a signifi cant factor affecting the

country’s socio-economic and political situation, it has

not been addressed in any legal acts. Therefore, norma-

tive and legal documents produced and used by organi-

zations and agencies working with older people should

be properly fi led and indexed. Such organizations and

agencies include social services, gerontology centers,

respite services, integrated medical and social care insti-

tutions, hospices and NGOs.

There are no special government initiatives focusing on

the older age group. The measures taken to improve the

quality of life of older people do not take a common ap-

proach. They are mainly aimed at reforming the benefi ts

scheme and improving the fi nancial welfare of individu-

al groups of older people such as war veterans and those

with disabilities. Therefore, new legal acts should be tai-

lored to the needs and interests of all older people.

When taking legislative and management decisions, the

following should be included:

• fi xed procedures that cannot be affected by individu-

al bureaucratic decisions;

• mechanisms ensuring the transparency of state au-

thorities working with older people through cooperation

with both supervisory authorities and civil society.

Of utmost importance is the development of a legislative

basis which can facilitate the meaningful participation of

older people in the decision-making that affects their lives.

3. DEVELOPING INFRASTRUCTURE

Clearly, the government is not able to solve all problems

related to ageing. It can, however, ensure an environ-

ment conducive to the development of the older popula-

tion and operation of NGOs by, fi rst of all, developing

the required and supportive infrastructure.

This is particularly relevant in the healthcare sector

where special gerontology, medical and social services

can be set up to provide medical and social care for the

elderly and develop rehabilitation, palliative and social

services. Demand for gerontologists and general prac-

titioners should be taken into account when identifying

priorities in the education sector.

Another task in building infrastructure for older people

is to promote a system where local authorities provide

services for lonely older people. Local authorities should

be able to provide lonely and low-income older people

with boarding accommodation where essential services

are provided and comfort ensured. The establishment of

private boarding houses for older people and special sub-

sidized shops for the elderly with fi nancial constraints

should be encouraged. Also, it is important that daycare

facilities and crisis and rehabilitation centers for older

people are in operation.

The third and arguably most important measure in build-

ing infrastructure for older people concerns local com-

munities supporting the elderly and involving them in

different non-governmental associations. In this respect,

the government should develop a set of measures to sup-

port families and local communities to take care of sen-

ior people and integrate them into local communities.

4. BUILDING A DATABASE

In order to analyze ageing holistically, with all its so-

cio-economic implications and actions to improve living

standards of the elderly, the following is required:

• research in key issues related to population age-

ing and the status of older people;

• monitoring and sampling of social, economic and

demographic surveys and surveys of fi nancial

and housing conditions of older people;

• pilot projects in key areas of social protection for

older people.

Coherent international and national conferences, sym-

posiums and workshops can help draw public attention

to ageing and the status of older people and serve as an

incentive for further topical research and exchanges.

The age group of 64+ should be singled out, with a

breakdown by gender and place of residence, including

collection and analysis of statistics, particularly related

to the following categories:

• older people’s economic status;

• older people’s political and social participation;

• morbidity rates and frequency of older people’s

visits to medical facilities.

To analyze population ageing in a holistic and systematic

way, a set of respective indicators should be developed

and the database enhanced both through offi cial statistics

and regular thematic research to be conducted by vari-

ous research agencies and NGOs. Such studies should

focus on:

• labor activity;

• psychological factors of ageing;

• inter-generational communication;

• monitoring of the observance of older people’s

consumer rights;

• oversight of medical facilities and healthcare;

• monitoring of access to public transport and other

means of transportation.

Mass media should play a key role to:

• promote public awareness of ageing issues and

promote international principles and standards of

decent maintenance in old age;

• raise public awareness of programs and projects

that involve older people.


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5. INSTITUTIONAL DEVELOPMENT AND CAPACITY-BUILDING OF STAKEHOLDERS

Alongside the government, such civil society organi-

zations as NGOs, research and academic institutions,

professional organizations, mass media and businesses

should be extensively involved in improving the living

standards and status of older people. Such organizations’

involvement in developing and monitoring targeted pro-

grams will facilitate coverage of various spheres of older

people’s lives, making national policies more effective

and ensuring transparent and accountable programming.

By directly involving older people, NGO activities will

be more focused and targeted, while their effectiveness

will be easier to track.

It is vital to promote cooperation between the govern-

ment, NGOs and local communities, international organ-

izations, private sector and specialized institutions and

encourage more joint initiatives to help elderly people.

In this respect, international organizations may help by:

• including older people’s concerns in their strate-

gies and programs and helping to address them;

• improving ageing-related cooperation between

various international organizations and national

NGOs.

There is a clear need to set up a national advisory board

on ageing to promote cooperation between the govern-

ment, local authorities, NGOs, international organiza-

tions, private sector and local communities.

Ageing-related concerns affect the lives of a variety of

population groups and are not always considered priori-

ties to be addressed. Therefore, there should be public

debates on ageing in order to harmonize the interests of

all parties concerned. A grant program may be set up to

fund NGOs’ work in advocacy, service provision and the

promotion of social integration of the older generation.

6. PROMOTING THE ROLE OF FAMILIES

The government and the NGO sector should encour-

age and support older people to live with their families

through a variety of economic incentives such as re-

duced utility costs, public transportation and healthcare

benefi ts. As a mechanism to support families taking care

of their older members, it makes sense not to include

older members’ pensions in the aggregate household in-

come used to calculate targeted social benefi ts and aver-

age income per household member. This would lead to

improvement in older people’s living standards, reduce

their economic vulnerability and promote their role as

family members.

Another tool to improve elderly people’s living standards

is to improve access of households with older members

to credit resources and provide better terms of credit for

them. Such measures to support households economi-

cally and fi nancially where two or three generations live

together would improve both older people’s living stand-

ards and promote the role of families as a whole, enhanc-

ing inter-generational communication through economic

acknowledgement of the need for and importance of in-

ter-generational values.

Such economic incentives will promote the value of

each older person as an individual with unique life ex-

periences. Correspondingly, older people would be more

involved in raising their grandchildren, thus promoting

communication between older and younger generations

and helping to identify an optimum combination of na-

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Age-specifi c mortality rates – unlike total mortality

rates these defi ne the death rate for different age-specifi c

groups. If calculated for different age-specifi c groups

then the fi nal combination of indices will be too high to

be used as a criterion of the state of health.

Agreement for pension annuity – an insurance agree-

ment that states that an insurer (a pension recipient)

shall transfer to an insurance company an accumulative

pension amount while an insurance company shall pay

a pension to the insurer (pension recipient) during their

whole life or for certain periods.

Assets coeffi cient refl ects the ratio of average incomes

of the groups that are being compared within a range of

distribution in the tenth and fi rst decile group.

Average life expectancy at birth – average number of

years a newborn infant would live if prevailing patterns

of age-specifi c mortality rates at the time of birth were to

stay the same throughout the child’s life.

Average monthly assigned pension (benefi t) – the cor-

relation between the total monthly assigned pensions

(benefi ts) paid to all pensioners (pension recipients) that

are registered with labor and social protection authorities

and their number (at year end).

Competency – the capacity to integrate acquired knowl-

edge and skills to solve problems and matters in certain

circumstances.

Consumer price index (infl ation) – describes changes

over time in the general level of prices of goods and

services purchased by the population for personal con-

sumption. The consumer price index is calculated using

a database compiled from two sources: data on price

changes collected and registered at trade places specially

designated in this regard and in places where services are

rendered; documents stating the output of investigation

of a household, especially actual consumer expenses

borne by the population during the preceding year.

Creation of equal opportunities – a process in which

such general systems of society as physical and cul-

tural opportunities, accommodation and vehicles, social

services and healthcare, access to education and work,

cultural and social life including sport and recreation

become available to the whole population. A World Pro-

gram supporting the disabled.

Custodian bank – a bank that fi xes and records rights

for securities, custody of documentary securities and re-

cording of clients’ accounts.

Disability – any restriction or absence (as a result of a

defi ciency) of a capacity to carry out any activity in the

manner or within the framework that is deemed as ‘nor-

mal’ for a human being. Loss or restriction of a capacity

to take part in the life of society in the same manner as

others due to social and outside barriers.

Disabled person – a person who became disabled due

to physical, mental or sensory defi ciencies that can be

permanent or temporary, inherited or acquired. A person

offi cially defi ned as disabled in a document issued by

the relevant state authority to confi rm that he/she is disa-

bled.

Economically active population (workforce) – part of

population of working age. Includes all those actively

engaged in all kinds of economic activity, as well as un-

employed people.

Economically inactive population – persons not of

working age who are not engaged or unemployed during

the period concerned.

Electoral behavior – a combination of actions of na-

tionals at local, regional or nationwide elections and

their participation in referendums. Forms of electoral

behavior may include protest election, vote against all

candidates, conformist vote for a party or a leader who is

supported by the majority of the electorate etc.

Electorate – citizens able to vote at parliamentary, pres-

idential or municipal elections.

Emigrants – nationals of the Republic of Kazakhstan

who are leaving for another country for permanent resi-

dence.

Employed population – all people of a certain age who

can be defi ned as hired or independent workers

Ensuring equal opportunities – a process where dif-

ferent systems of a society and environment like labor

activity and information become available to the whole

population, especially to include the disabled. Includes

standard rules to ensure equal opportunities for the disa-

bled.

Expected educational output – the expected target of an

education process defi ned as specifi c education outputs:

knowledge, skills, competencies.

Formal education – a hierarchically structured educa-

tion system that mainly takes into account age-specifi c

stages of individuals’ development and that includes all

education levels from primary school to post-graduate

education.

Further education – an educating process that is ap-

plied at different levels of the education system in addi-

tion to masters programs to meet population’s needs.

Disease incidence – 1) a summary of new diseases

not registered anywhere before that were fi rst detected

among the population during the year concerned - to-

tal of fi rst detected disease incidence, based on statis-

tical documents with positive diagnosis confi rmed. 2)

the number of new cases of the disease among certain

groups during the period concerned.

Gross Domestic Product – an important indicator of

national accounts describing the fi nal output of the eco-

nomic activity of a country at production stage, defi ned

as the total gross value added of the sectors.

Healthcare – actions taken by legal entities and private

individuals in certain circumstances, in the order and on

the terms fi xed in the applicable law in favor of private

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individuals: preventive treatment, medical examination,

diagnostics, medical treatment and recovery (rehabilita-

tion) due to diseases or other health disorders, pregnancy

and childbirth;

Hired (paid) workers – persons employed under a hire

agreement that provides for payment (remuneration) in

the form of wage, premium, bonus etc. or by barter.

Immigrant – a foreigner or a person who is not a na-

tional who has moved to the Republic of Kazakhstan for

permanent or temporary residence.

Incapacity – loss or restriction of capacity to take part in

the life of society in the same manner as others.

Individual social code – a permanent individual code

given to a national and to persons entitled to pension

provision in accordance with this law.

Informal education – an education process based on

collection of information, knowledge and skills in eve-

ryday life e.g. communication, reading, visits to cultural

centers.

Informal education – a purposeful and systematic edu-

cation process conducted outside the formal education

system.

Investment income – money received from investment

in saving pension fund assets.

Labor migration – movement of persons from their

own country to another to fi nd work.

Life expectancy at birth – the average number of years

a person is expected to live on condition that the death

rate remains the same as in the year when the index was

defi ned.

Medical and social assessment - a process in which a

person is defi ned and accepted as disabled (determina-

tion of disability category) that is based on a complex

assessment of his/her health status, the extent of restric-

tion and need for social support.

Medical rehabilitation – a system of actions aimed at

prevention of development of pathological processes

that may lead to temporary or permanent loss of working

capacity and at quick and effi cient return of the sick and

disabled to work and society.

Migrants with nonregulated status – persons located

in a foreign country who do not fully comply with the

terms and requirements regarding entrance, residence or

economic activity established by the government of that

country.

Migration – permanent or temporary, voluntary or

mandatory mobilization of private individuals from one

country to another and within a country.

Migration network – a network of interpersonal rela-

tionships where migrants communicate with their fami-

lies and their countrymen living abroad. Network rela-

tionships cover information exchange, fi nancial support,

assistance in fi nding a job and other forms of support.

Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) – open

non-profi t public organizations that are not restricted by

profession peculiarities and do not strive for power in

governmental authorities.

Nongovernmental sector of social services – entities

rendering social services to disadvantaged groups, the

activity of which is based on ownership forms not related

to the state or municipal authorities and that may unite

private individuals engaged in private social activity.

Oralman immigration quota – number of oralman

families who are allowed to move to Kazakhstan and en-

titled to benefi ts and concessions in accordance with the

migration law of Kazakhstan.

Oralmans – foreigners or persons who are not nation-

als and who were permanent residents of other countries

when Kazakhstan was declared a sovereign country and

who moved to Kazakhstan for permanent residence.

Over-mortality (premature death) – from the point of

view of human development indices theory this term is

interpreted as mortality of the population below 85 years

old – the natural limit of a human longevity.

Pension savings – money of an contributor (recipient)

accumulating on his/her personal pension account that

includes voluntary pension contributions and voluntary

professional pension contributions, investment income,

penalties, miscellaneous payments to be made in accord-

ance with agreements, this Law and applicable laws of

the Republic of Kazakhstan.

Poverty – a socio-economic phenomenon where certain

groups are faced with obstacles when meeting their pri-

ority physiological needs related to fulfi llment of their

right for life and who have no opportunity to take part in

the life of society within the framework of rights fi xed in

the constitution.

Purchasing power parity (PPP) – number of national

currency units required to purchase a certain standard

combination of goods and services that can be purchased

with one unit in a baseline country. PPP for the goods

basket is determined by weighing of the PPP on each

good in this basket, taking into account expenses for cer-

tain goods used as balances.

Quantile population groups – division of the popu-

lation into equal parts regardless of other properties.

Decile and quintile division - 10 and 20% - groups are

most frequently referred to.

Real wage index – a relative indicator describing chang-

es in nominal wages taking into account price changes

during the reporting period in comparison with the base-

line period. It describes the purchasing capacity of the

nominal wage.

Re-emigration – movement of a person who, after hav-

ing returned to his/her country of departure, again emi-

grates.

Rehabilitation - a process to bring a person’s condition

after disease or injury as close as possible back to that

preceding the disease or injury.

Savings-based pension fund – a legal entity that col-

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and that deals with management of pension assets in the

order established by the applicable law of the Republic

of Kazakhstan.

Self-employment – employment where the remunera-

tion rate depends directly on income from production

of goods and services (where personal consumption is

deemed as a part of the income). The international clas-

sifi cation of employment (employment status) defi nes

the following self-employed workers: employers, self-

employed workers, unpaid family workers, members of

manufaturers’ cooperatives.

Social care – a combination of social services, medi-

cal-social, social-economic, social-everyday, social-psy-

chological, social-educating and other kinds of support

to a person by state and nongovernmental authorities,

particularly in times of diffi culty.

Social protection of disabled people – a system of so-

cial and legal actions guaranteed by the government pro-

viding conditions for the disabled to overcome restric-

tions and aimed at creation of equal opportunities for the

disabled to take part in the life of society.

Social rehabilitation – a combination of programs and

actions aimed at the rehabilitation of social functions of

an individual and of his/her social and psychological sta-

tus in a society.

Social services – companies and entities regardless of

their ownership forms that render social-everyday, so-

cial-medical, psychological-educating, social-legal serv-

ices and social and fi nancial support.

Socialization – a person’s acquisition of social expe-

rience, including a system of social and political roles.

This process occurs in the family, kindergartens, schools,

labor and other teams. In socialization, such personal

properties like individuality and self-awareness are de-

veloped.

Special care – support provided by doctors in outpatient

departments and hospitals equipped to provide special

care.

Subsistence minimum – minimum income per person,

equal to the value of the minimum consumer basket.

Unemployment rate – percentage of the economically

active population out of work.

Voluntary pension scheme contributor – a private in-

dividual or a legal entity that at its own cost contributes

to pension funds in favor of a recipient in accordance

with an agreement for pension provision by voluntary

pension contributions.

Mandatory pension scheme contributor – a private

individual or a legal entity that has signed an agreement

for pension provision by mandatory pension contribu-

tions and that opened an individual pension account in a

savings pension fund.

In-country migration – temporary or permanent and

seasonal mobilization of private individuals in the Re-

public of Kazakhstan.

Volunteering – voluntary charitable activity aimed at

resolution of a range of social problems such as illitera-

cy, unemployment, hunger, homelessness.

Geriatric services – an integrated system of medical,

psychological and social-everyday support to the older

population.

Gerontology – a science studying the ageing process

and its separate aspects (physiological, psychological,

social, medical, hygienic and economic).

Grant – money allocated by a private fund or govern-

ment for fi nancial support of any activity corresponding

to the mission chosen by a grantee.

Clinical examination – a method of medical and pre-

ventive care of certain groups registered as those who

have to be examined, their observation at an early stage

of disease development, timely medical and preventive

actions to preserve their health, and environmental re-

covery.

Voluntary pension contributions – money paid volun-

tarily by contributors to saving pension funds in favor

of a recipient in the order stated in the applicable law of

the Republic of Kazakhstan and in accordance with an

agreement for pension provision by voluntary pension

contributions.


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ANNEX 1TECHNICAL NOTES

1. Integral human development indicators

In 1987 the UN Development Planning Committee decid-

ed to review the human cost of structural changes as a topic

for its report for 1988. The fi ndings of surveys conducted

as part of a report by a group of experts headed by M. Ul-Haka were part of a draft report “Human development:

the forgotten measurement of development strategy” by

K. Griffi n. Later, Griffi n, in cooperation with John Knight

published their works in a special edition of the Journal of

Development Planning102 in 1989 and re-published them

as a book in 1990103. This served as the foundation for a

conceptual approach to human development.

Theories by Amartya Sen (Sen A.), the Nobel prize win-

ner in economics, who published his “Development as

Capability Expansion”104 in 1989 had a powerful im-

pact on the contemporary concept of human develop-

ment. Sen did not consider development as improving

fi nancial or economic welfare, but rather as expansion

of human “capabilities”, i.e. ability to live a long and

healthy life, have access to knowledge, be able to be

more active, etc. At the same time, increased capability

was associated with greater choices. Thus, the human

development concept identifi ed human development

and greater choices rather than greater GNP as an eco-

nomic development target.

The conceptual approach to human development (also

translated as development of human potential) elabo-

rated by a group of UNDP experts was fi rst published

in the fi rst Global Human Development Report 1990105

where human development was defi ned as “expansion

of human choices and achieved welfare”. Income is

only one of such choices. Equally important are health,

education, environment and freedom of action and

speech. The report provided a new tool to measure so-

cio-economic progress: the human development index

(HDI) which combines life expectancy, adult level of

education and income.

This defi nition of human development pre-determines

a wide and complex set of statistical indicators allow-

ing assessment and review of human development. All

statistical indicators capturing human development

may be grouped as follows:

1. Integral indicators of general assessment of hu-

man development.

2. Basic indicators capturing the main components

of integral assessment of human development.

3. Other indicators capturing other dimensions of

human development.

102 Griffi n K. and Knight J. (eds). 1989. “Human Development in the 1980s

and Beyond.” In: Journal of Development Planning. No. 19 (Special

edition).

103 Griffi n K. and Knight J. (eds). 1990. “Human Development and the

International Development Strategy for the 1990s”. London: Macmillan.

104 Sen A. 1989. “Development as Capability Expansion.” In: Journal of

Development Planning. No.19.

105 UNDP. 1990. Human Development Report 1990. New York: Oxford

University Press.

2. Basic and integral human development indicators

Basic human development indicators capture three

main dimensions of human development, which are

longevity, education and living standards. Each of these

human development dimensions captures a number of

important human capabilities. Thus, longevity means

capability to live a long and healthy life, education

– to acquire knowledge, communicate and participate

in public life, living standards – to have access to re-

sources required for a decent living, live a healthy life,

be territorially and socially mobile, participate in pub-

lic life, etc.

A set of indicators calculated on a regular basis and

comparable across nearly all countries of the world is

used to measure these three human development com-

ponents. An increase in the value of basic indicators

suggests better capabilities in the respective human de-

velopment dimension.

Indicators capturing longevity. Live expectancy at birth is used to measure longevity. A shorter term is

often used – life expectancy. It is one of the most com-

mon indicators in international statistics, which is cal-

culated based on so-called “mortality rates”.

Life expectancy at birth – the number of years a new-

born would live, provided death rates for each age re-

main the same as in the birth year throughout the entire

life of the newborn.

These indicators can be both gender-aggregated and

gender-disaggregated.

In addition, proportions of the population not surviving to a certain age are used to calculate the human pov-

erty indices and to capture deprivation in the ability to

live a long and healthy life.

The under-fi ve mortality rate and maternal mortality rate are additionally used for developing and devel-

oped countries respectively.

Indicators capturing education

Education is measured by the literacy rate among the

15+ population and the enrolment ratio.

Literacy is the ability to both read and write, with un-

derstanding, a short statement related to the person’s

everyday life.

For developing countries, literacy is the most signifi -

cant indicator of education. Therefore, it is given twice

the weighting as the enrolment ratio when calculating

the HDI.

Global Human Development Reports before 1995

used, instead of the enrolment ratio, average duration of learning calculated for the population aged 25 and

more. Since the 1995 Report, however, this indicator

was replaced by the enrolment ratio.

The enrolment ratio is the number of students enrolled

in primary, secondary and tertiary levels of education,

as a percentage of the population aged 5-24.


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It should be remembered that different levels of educa-

tion impact human capabilities differently. Therefore,

Anand and Sen suggested complementing the common

education indicators with those specifi c for individual

levels of education, so as to use enrolment in secondary and tertiary education for developing and developed

countries respectively.

Indicators capturing living standards

Unlike the previous two dimensions, this human de-velopment dimension only identifi es human capabilities

rather than determining their use. This means that it is

only a means of enlarging the capability to choose but

not the choice as such.

The high-quality assessment of the living standards

should include many factors determining development

and fulfi llment of human capabilities, such as personal

income, income distribution between different popula-

tion groups, accrued property, access to land and credit

resources, infrastructure and access to public commod-

ities such as healthcare, education, transport, utilities,

etc., individual lifestyles, family size and composition,

commodities produced by households, environmental

and climatic conditions etc.

Since it is diffi cult to select a direct indicator, an in-direct indicator – Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita – is used to assess fi nancial welfare. For inter-

country comparisons, GDP per capita should be con-

verted into real GDP per capita in USD using purchas-

ing parity power (PPP) of national currency relative to

US dollars.

PPP is understood to be the number of national cur-

rency units required to purchase an identical basket of

goods and services that can be bought for US$1 in the

USA.

Countries comprising different groups depending on

their level of economic development can be compared

using complementary indicators, allowing to more ob-

jectively differentiate countries within one group de-

pending on their fi nancial welfare. Thus, for the least

developed countries real GDP per capita is a relatively

adequate tool to capture access to resources required

for a decent living. For developing countries, it makes

sense to complement it with the proportion of people with income below the poverty line, which captures

poverty incidence, which is more common for the less

developed countries. For developed countries, these

two indicators should be complemented with income inequality indicator106:

Y = (1 – G) * Yr,

where G – Gini coeffi cient;

Yr – real GDP per capita.

When countries have the same real GDP per capita, the

Gini coeffi cient allows differentiation of countries by

living standards.

106 Anand S., Sen A. Human Development Index: Methodology and

Measurement // Background Paper for Human Development Report 1993.

- New York: UNDP, 1992.

3. The Human Development Index (HDI)

The Human Development Index is calculated as an arith-

metic average value of three other indices: life expect-

ancy, education and GDP. The education index is calcu-

lated using the indices of literacy (two thirds weighting)

and access to education (one third).

Four indicators are used to calculate these indices. The accept-

ed ranges of these indicators lie within the following limits:

IndicatorMini-mum value

Maxi-mum value

Life expectancy at birth, years 25 85

Adult literacy rate, % 0 100

Combined gross enrolment ratio, % 0 100

GDP per capita, PPP USD 100 40000

Based on these indicators, the following formula is used

to calculate all indices apart from the GDP index:

actual value of хi – minimum value of хi

I = _________________________________________

maximum value of хi – minimum value of хi

When building the GDP index, a different formula is

used. The formula uses a decimal logarithm of GDP per

capita in numerator and denominator:

log10 (actual value of хi) – log10 (minimum value хi)

I = __________________________________________

log10 (maximum value of хi) – log10 (minimum value of хi)

Kazakhstan, which had the following main indicators in

2004, can be used to illustrate the calculation of the hu-

man development index:

Indicator Value

Life expectancy at birth, years 66,2

Adult literacy rate, % 99,5

Combined gross enrolment ratio, % 84

GDP per capita, PPP USD 7260

Hence, according to the above formula, the life expect-

ancy index will be 0.682:

(66.2 - 25) / (85 - 25) = 41.2 / 60 = 0.687.

The adult literacy index will be 0.995:

(99.5 - 0) / (100 - 0) = 0.995.

The overall education index will be 0.943, when the en-

rolment ratio is used worth 84%:

(0.995 * 2 + 0.840) / 3 = 0.943.

If calculated by the above formula the GDP index will be:

(log(7260)-log(100)) / (log(40000) – log(100)) =

= (8.890-4.605) / (10.597-4.605) = 4.285/5.991 = 0.715

The human development index based on these three in-

dices will be 0.782:

(0.687 + 0.943 + 0.715) / 3 = 0.782.

4. The Gender-related Development Index (GDI)

The gender-related development index uses the same in-

dicators as the HDI. They differ in that for GDI average


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values of each country’s indices (life expectancy, educa-

tion and GDP) are adjusted by the gap between male and

female attainment. In order to make this adjustment, a

weighting formula is used. This formula is based on the

quality of the average power function to depend on the

exponent of the mean (majority median rule).

S. Anand and A. Sen suggested the following formula to

calculate gender-adjusted indices107:

I = [df × If 1-и + dm × Im 1-и ]1/(1-и) ,

where df and dm are, respectively, proportions of women

and men in the overall population;

If and Im are indices relative for women and men;

(1-и) is the exponent of the average.

When different values of и (exponent of the 1-и mean)

are used, different types of median emerge:

и = 0 – arithmetic median;

и = 1 – geometric median;

и = 2 – harmonic median, etc.

The more the accepted exponent differs from the expo-

nent of arithmetic median, the more signifi cantly this

affects the reduction of the average indicator. All Glo-

bal Human Development Reports use the parameter of

weighting и fi xed at 2 (“moderate deviation toward in-

equality”). The result is a harmonious middling of indi-

cators of female and male attainment.

The GDI is also corrected in terms of maximum and

minimum life expectancies considering that women gen-

erally live longer than men. Thus, maximum female life

expectancy is fi xed at 87.5 years and minimum at 27.5

years, for males 82.5 and 22.5 years respectively.

The equally-distributed life expectancy index (using the pa-

rameter of weighting и = 2) is calculated by the formula:

where df and dm are, respectively, proportions of women

and men in the overall population;

Ifl e and Imle are female and male life expectancy indices.

The equally-distributed education and income indices

are calculated similarly. The summary human develop-

ment index adjusted for gender is an arithmetic mean of

the three equally distributed indices.

Calculation of an income index adjusted for gender is

more complicated. It is expected that incomes generated

in the country are distributed between men and women

in proportion to their wages. Two types of data are used

when the proportion of women and men with earned in-

come are calculated: ratio of average wages of women

to average wages of men and percentages of women

and men in the economically active population aged 15

and older. When data about the ratio of average wages

107 Anand S., Sen A. Human Development Index: Methodology and

Measurement // Background Paper for Human Development Report 1993.

- New York: UNDP, 1992.

of women and men are not available, a weighted mean

ratio of 75% for all countries that have data on wages is

used.

The proportion of wages for females (Sf) is calculated

by the formula:

Sf = deaf × Iisf /(deaf × Iisf + deam),

where deaf and deam are the proportions of women and

men in the total economically active population;

Iisf is the index of the average female wages relative to

average male wages.

Taking into account the age and gender composition of

the population we can calculate incomes (GDP) per one

woman and one man:

GDPf = GDP × Sf / df ,

GDPm = GDP × (1-Sf) / dm,

where GDP, GDPf, GDPm are GDP per capita, per one

woman and one man.

5. The Gender Empowerment Measure (GEM)

The gender empowerment measure (GEM) is built on

indicators calculated specifi cally to measure the rela-

tive political and economic participation of women and

men.

The fi rst two indicators are used to capture economic

participation and decision-making power through wom-

en’s and men’s percentages of positions as senior of-

fi cials and managers and women’s and men’s percent-

ages of professional and technical positions. Since the

proportions of positions of each of these categories are

different in the overall population, indices are calculated

individually for each category and then summed.

The third indicator, which is women’s and men’s percent-

ages of parliamentary seats, has been selected to capture

political participation and decision-making power.

For each of these three dimensions, an equally distrib-

uted equivalent percentage (EDEP) is calculated, as a

population-weighted average, according to the follow-

ing general formula:

where df and dm are, respectively, female and male

population shares;

dfi and dmi are, respectively, earned incomes of women

and men by each of the three indicators.

Then these indicators are indexed by dividing the EDEP

by 50 %.

The income index is used as an indicator capturing the abil-

ity to manage economic resources. This index is calculated

using the GDI methodology. The income index can be PPP

US$40,000 maximum and PPP US$10,000.

Finally, equally weighted indices for each of these di-

mensions - economic participation and decision-making

power, political participation and decision-making pow-


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er and the ability to manage economic resources – give

the combined GEM.

6. The Human Poverty Index (HPI)

Depending on the socio-economic conditions of individual

countries, different indicators can be included in the Human

Poverty Index (HPI). In the Global Human Development

Report for 1997 the Human Poverty Index suggested for de-

veloping countries (HPI-1) refl ects all three dimensions of

human life that are included in the HDI – namely a long and

healthy life, knowledge and a decent standard of living:

HPI-1 = [1/3(P1и + P2

и + P3и )]и ,

where P1 – percentage of population not surviving to age

40,

P2 – adult literacy rate,

P3 – average of population without sustainable access to

safe water and healthcare and under-fi ve children under-

weight for their age.

Considering the completely different social and economic

conditions in developed industrial countries, UNDP in its

Global Human Development Report 1999, suggested a dif-

ferent formula to measure poverty (HPI-2) of the popula-

tions in these countries:

HPI-2 = [1/4(P1и + P2

и + P3и + P4

и )]и ,


60,

P2 – percentage of adults lacking functional literacy

skills,

P3 – percentage of population with income below 50% of

median adjusted income in the country, i.e. income in the

middle of the income distribution line,

P4 – percentage of the economically active population

unemployed for 12 months or more.

The following formula for calculation of HPI has been

adopted (as of National Human Development Report

1999) for Kazakhstan:

HPI = [1/4(P1и + P2

и + P3и + P4

и )]и ,


60,

P2 – percentage of young people aged 16 not enrolled in

schooling,

P3 – percentage of population with income below the

subsistence minimum,

P4 – unemployment rate.

Illustrating using calculation of Kazakhstan’s HPI

for 2003. The baseline data are P1 = 30.3%, P2 = 3%,

P3 = 19.8%, P4 = 8.8%.

Using the above formula, Kazakhstan’s HPI for 2003

will be 20.9%, which suggests that over one fi fth of the

country’s population is disadvantaged (deprived in terms

of human development) by the selected four indicators.

7. Kazakhstan’s HDI by region

The human development index can be improved if dis-

aggregated. The overall index of a country can mask the

fact that different groups of the country’s population may

have different levels of human development whether by

region, gender or settlement (urban or rural).

When calculating regional HDI, the main problem is the

choice of an indicator most adequately refl ecting access

of the population to resources. At the country level, GDP

per capita serves this purpose according to the UNDP

methodology. Gross Regional Product (GRP) calculated

by the manufacturing method is used instead of GDP for

regional HDIs. Use of this indicator when computing the

HDI is the most vulnerable point in regional HDI meas-

urement methodology since high proportions of export-

oriented sectors in GDP may produce a picture of token

economic welfare of the region’s population.

Taking into account critiques about using per capita GRP

as an indicator describing the population’s access to re-

sources for decent living standards, the GDP index has

also been used when gathering data and calculating re-

gional HDIs for national human development reports.

It should be noted that per capita GRP and the national level

of monetary incomes differed by 2.9 – 3.5 times in 1993-

2003 for three main reasons. Firstly, monetary incomes of

the surveyed households contain a systemic mistake con-

nected to their underestimation: macro level underestima-

tion ranged from one fourth to one third of declared mon-

etary incomes. Secondly, GRP contains in-kind incomes of

the population accounting for up to a quarter of monetary

incomes and cost estimates of individual commodities that

households already own. These include, for example, the

relative cost of living in owned housing. Thirdly, in terms

of consumptive use, GRP includes incomes used both for

consumption and savings. In addition, it is worth noting

that summary GYP by oblasts (GRP) does not equal GDP

relative to GYP when not distributed by regions.

Exchange of per capita monetary incomes into USD at PPP

will lead to underestimation of access to resources. There-

fore, to ensure that the results are the same at the national

level per capita, monetary incomes exchanged into USD

through PPP are multiplied by a coeffi cient equal to the ra-

tio of per capita GDP to per capita monetary incomes. This

coeffi cient is used to correct regional per capita monetary

incomes, which results in regional monetary incomes of the

population coinciding with the national average.

8. Kazakhstan’s HDI by settlement (urban/rural)

Baseline indicators broken down by urban/rural area should

be available in order to calculate the HDI by settlement. De-

spite some diffi culties, all indicators, apart from GDP per

capita, are now calculated with an urban/rural breakdown.

In order to differentiate between rural and urban GDP,

national human development reports have employed the

methodology used to calculate gender-disaggregated GDP.

Therefore, earned income is distributed between men and

women in proportion to their respective wages in order to

calculate gender-related GDP, while urban/rural income

per capita is used to calculate urban/rural GDP.


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ANNEX 2STATISTICAL ANNEXES

Table 1.1. Proportion of population not surviving to age 60, by oblast, 1998-2004

Region 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004Akmola oblast including Astana City 34,5 30,6 30,3 31,6 30,3 30,3 30,4

Akmola oblast 35,8 32,0 33,1 35,4 33,7 35,7 35,1

Aktobe oblast 34,0 30,8 34,3 34,8 34,6 33,6 32,2

Almaty oblast 29,2 28,0 28,2 27,5 27,0 28,0 28,2

Atyrau oblast 34,1 33,6 33,2 32,2 33,6 30,9 30,0

East Kazakhstan oblast 36,8 31,6 33,4 31,9 32,1 31,8 32,0

Zhambyl oblast 30,5 27,4 30,3 28,9 27,9 29,3 28,2

West Kazakhstan oblast 33,7 30,9 32,0 32,2 33,0 32,8 30,0

Karagandy oblast 37,8 33,3 33,2 33,8 33,9 35,3 36,1Kostanai oblast 32,8 31,0 31,6 30,7 30,2 31,7 31,8

Kyzylorda oblast 30,8 28,6 27,5 27,5 28,2 26,7 26,0

Manghistau oblast 34,0 31,0 31,1 33,8 32,6 30,2 29,7

Pavlodar oblast 35,0 30,2 31,2 31,6 30,6 30,4 30,7

North Kazakhstan oblast 35,0 31,6 32,3 32,4 33,0 33,3 33,2

South Kazakhstan oblast 29,2 26,1 26,2 26,1 26,7 26,5 25,9

Astana City 31,1 27,4 24,9 25,3 25,1 22,4 23,6Almaty City 27,5 27,0 27,1 26,0 25,2 26,5 28,5

KAZAKHSTAN 33,0 29,9 30,5 30,3 30,1 30,3 30,3Source: calculated by the author using data of the RK Statistics Agency.Note: The highest value in each year is highlighted in bold, while the lowest is in bold italics.

Table 1.2. Proportion of 16-year-olds not enrolled in education, 1998-2004


Akmola oblast 15,5 13,6 4,1 7,7 6,2 9,2 12,0Aktobe oblast 9,2 6,1 7,2 5,2 0,0 0,0 2,7

Almaty oblast 13,7 10,0 14,8 15,5 10,8 7,4 7,5

Atyrau oblast 6,5 7,0 6,2 5,4 0,0 0,0 0,2


Zhambyl oblast 9,6 14,0 17,5 14,7 8,7 4,7 7,0

West Kazakhstan oblast 12,0 4,0 0,0 5,4 0,0 0,0 0,0Karagandy oblast 11,7 5,5 10,7 10,8 3,6 0,1 3,2

Kostanai oblast 6,3 7,0 14,2 12,0 11,0 10,1 7,4


Manghistau oblast 8,7 6,0 0,2 5,0 0,0 0,0 0,0Pavlodar oblast 11,4 7,0 11,3 14,0 2,4 1,6 1,7



Astana City 8,5 9,0 32,1 29,0 8,7 0,0 0,0Almaty City 4,9 4,0 0,0 0,0 0,0 0,0 0,0KAZAKHSTAN 10,8 11,6 9,8 10,6 4,5 3,0 1,1

Source: calculated by the author using data of the RK Statistics Agency.Note: The highest value in each year is highlighted in bold, while the lowest is in bold italics.


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Table 1.3. Proportion of population with income spent on consumption below the subsistence minimum, 1999-2004

Region 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004Akmola oblast including Astana City 29,8 23,0 13,9 12,1 10,6 8,8

Akmola oblast 35,4 28,9 21,0 18,6 16,4 14,0

Aktobe oblast 24,3 18,3 29,8 22,6 19,0 14,3

Almaty oblast 44,2 46,2 39,3 36,3 25,3 15,2

Atyrau oblast 50,1 49,6 40,7 34,1 32,7 29,1East Kazakhstan oblast 17,3 15,4 21,1 20,0 16,9 14,9

Zhambyl oblast 45,7 47,7 48,2 35,8 30,0 18,3

West Kazakhstan oblast 28,9 12,0 27,3 28,0 17,1 14,4

Karagandy oblast 18,4 18,6 22,8 19,3 15,1 13,5

Kostanai oblast 21,7 22,3 25,5 22,3 21,0 19,0

Kyzylorda oblast 55,0 51,6 39,5 32,3 27,1 26,5

Manghistau oblast 37,9 59,7 45,9 39,8 26,0 21,0

Pavlodar oblast 48,0 14,9 16,6 21,6 17,1 14,5

North Kazakhstan oblast 27,2 11,9 10,0 14,3 11,9 12,0

South Kazakhstan oblast 55,5 52,8 39,2 27,5 26,1 23,0

Astana City 15,1 11,6 2,2 2,2 2,1 1,1Almaty City 13,7 4,8 4,9 4,1 3,9 2,8

KAZAKHSTAN 34,5 31,8 28,4 24,2 19,8 16,1Source: calculated by the author using data of the RK Statistics Agency.Note: The highest value in each region is highlighted in bold, while the lowest is in bold italics.

Table 1.4. Trends in unemployment rate (at year end), 1999-2004


Akmola oblast 14,7 12,6 10,8 9,2 9,2 9,2

Aktobe oblast 13,7 13,3 11,4 10,2 9,7 9,4

Almaty oblast 14,2 14,1 10,2 9,2 8,6 7,8

Atyrau oblast 15,1 15,5 13,5 10,7 9,5 9,3

East Kazakhstan oblast 8,5 8,2 7,3 7,3 7,3 7,2Zhambyl oblast 14,6 14,4 12,7 12,3 11,1 10,2West Kazakhstan oblast 7,8 7,8 12,5 10,0 9,3 9,2


Kostanai oblast 15,8 13,1 10,3 9,3 8,7 8,5

Kyzylorda oblast 16,1 14,5 13,9 12,5 11,4 10,2Manghistau oblast 13,2 13,7 10,5 9,8 9,7 9,8

Pavlodar oblast 13,4 13,8 9,2 8,7 8,2 7,7



Astana City 13,0 12,5 9,3 8,7 8,4 8,3

Almaty City 14,0 12,1 10,8 9,6 8,9 8,8

KAZAKHSTAN 13,5 12,8 10,4 9,3 8,8 8,4Source: calculated by the author using data of the RK Statistics Agency.Note: The highest value in each year is highlighted in bold, while the lowest is in bold italics.


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Table 1.5. Trends in Human Poverty Index, 1999-2004


Akmola oblast 27,5 25,0 24,0 22,5 23,4 23,0

Aktobe oblast 22,6 23,1 26,0 23,8 22,5 21,0

Almaty oblast 30,4 31,7 27,8 25,9 21,4 18,9

Atyrau oblast 34,7 34,4 29,6 27,0 25,4 23,6

East Kazakhstan oblast 21,1 21,9 22,1 21,9 21,1 20,9

Zhambyl oblast 31,2 33,1 32,8 26,0 23,8 19,6



Kostanai oblast 22,3 22,9 23,0 21,7 22,0 21,6



Pavlodar oblast 32,8 21,1 21,5 21,4 20,3 20,1



Astana City 18,9 23,5 21,8 16,2 14,4 15,1

Almaty City 18,4 17,6 16,8 16,2 16,9 18,1

KAZAKHSTAN 26,2 25,1 23,7 22,0 20,9 20,1Source: calculated by the author using data of the RK Statistics Agency.Note: The highest value in each year is highlighted in bold, while the lowest is in bold italics.

Table 1.6. Sex and age specifi c breakdown of household members by income spent on consumption in 2004*

All household members

Population with income spent on consumption

Men with income spent on consumption

Women with income spent on consumption

below the subsistence minimum

(poor)

above the subsistence minimum (not poor)


(poor)



(poor)


Total 100,0 100,0 100,0 100,0 100,0 100,0 100,0

Including

0-14 22,9 33,1 19,0 34,7 22,1 31,8 16,7

15-19 11,5 13,0 10,9 13,4 12,4 12,6 9,7

20-24 7,2 7,4 7,1 7,8 8,2 7,1 6,1

25-29 6,1 6,0 6,1 6,2 6,5 5,9 5,8

30-34 6,5 6,7 6,4 6,5 6,5 7,0 6,3

35-39 7,0 7,9 6,7 7,2 6,5 8,4 6,8

40-44 8,7 7,9 9,0 8,2 8,5 7,6 9,4

45-49 7,7 5,4 8,6 5,7 8,0 5,1 9,0

50-54 6,1 3,7 7,0 3,4 6,5 4,0 7,5

55-59 4,2 2,3 4,9 2,1 4,3 2,4 5,4

60-64 3,2 1,8 3,8 1,5 3,1 2,0 4,3

65 + 8,9 4,8 10,5 3,3 7,4 6,1 13,0

Source: Living Standards in Kazakhstan. Statistical digest. Almaty, 2005. – 174 p. – pp.72-73. * without equivalence scales


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Table 1.7. Trends in HDIs of Kazakhstan and its regions based on GRP per capita, 1990-2004

Region 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997Akmola oblast including Astana City 0,762 0,765 0,748 0,755 0,733 0,706 0,701 0,704

Akmola oblast … … … … … … … 0,696

Aktobe oblast 0,793 0,784 0,772 0,766 0,750 0,734 0,729 0,738

Almaty oblast 0,764 0,751 0,741 0,718 0,706 0,693 0,712 0,713

Atyrau oblast 0,773 0,762 0,765 0,733 0,760 0,766 0,776 0,781

East Kazakhstan oblast 0,773 0,764 0,760 0,739 0,731 0,723 0,716 0,720

Zhambyl oblast 0,763 0,742 0,748 0,707 0,686 0,664 0,695 0,685West Kazakhstan oblast 0,786 0,775 0,751 0,745 0,721 0,703 0,699 0,726

Karagandy oblast 0,774 0,770 0,781 0,758 0,752 0,744 0,723 0,729

Kostanai oblast 0,803 0,788 0,805 0,793 0,768 0,729 0,728 0,746

Kyzylorda oblast 0,749 0,731 0,737 0,712 0,707 0,695 0,711 0,710

Manghistau oblast 0,771 0,777 0,785 0,702 0,758 0,777 0,785 0,769

Pavlodar oblast 0,777 0,777 0,787 0,774 0,764 0,755 0,754 0,737

North Kazakhstan oblast 0,793 0,800 0,780 0,746 0,748 0,744 0,750 0,734

South Kazakhstan oblast 0,765 0,758 0,746 0,719 0,700 0,676 0,699 0,703

Astana City … … … … … … … 0,724

Almaty City 0,802 0,791 0,770 0,782 0,769 0,767 0,802 0,821KAZAKHSTAN 0,776 0,769 0,766 0,748 0,738 0,726 0,732 0,735

Table 1.7 continued


Akmola oblast 0,692 0,715 0,708 0,715 0,725 0,722 0,731

Aktobe oblast 0,746 0,747 0,742 0,751 0,763 0,773 0,793

Almaty oblast 0,707 0,700 0,696 0,710 0,715 0,715 0,720

Atyrau oblast 0,777 0,785 0,813 0,825 0,837 0,853 0,866


Zhambyl oblast 0,684 0,684 0,676 0,687 0,699 0,708 0,721West Kazakhstan oblast 0,728 0,739 0,754 0,764 0,775 0,780 0,799

Karagandy oblast 0,729 0,745 0,748 0,754 0,760 0,765 0,773

Kostanai oblast 0,736 0,734 0,731 0,739 0,743 0,748 0,757


Manghistau oblast 0,768 0,780 0,793 0,795 0,811 0,823 0,837

Pavlodar oblast 0,755 0,745 0,751 0,763 0,771 0,780 0,793



Astana City 0,757 0,773 0,782 0,786 0,807 0,831 0,840

Almaty City 0,823 0,828 0,821 0,839 0,850 0,852 0,849KAZAKHSTAN 0,736 0,742 0,743 0,754 0,765 0,772 0,782

Source: calculated by the author using data of the RK Statistics Agency and GRP per capita at the regional level. Note: The highest value in each year is highlighted in bold, while the lowest is in bold italics.


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Table 1.8. Trends in GDP (GRP) per capita in Kazakhstan and its regions, 1990-2004, USD at PPP

Region 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997Akmola oblast including Astana City 4849 5388 4022 5885 4577 3419 3061 3026

Akmola oblast 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2698

Aktobe oblast 7750 6903 5593 6475 5652 5077 4204 4995

Almaty oblast 5238 4355 3680 3091 2560 2263 2919 2767

Atyrau oblast 7224 6139 6536 4732 8558 9987 11096 11431East Kazakhstan oblast 6480 5680 5380 4734 4656 5063 4394 4539

Zhambyl oblast 5825 4188 4681 2890 2010 1557 2501 2049West Kazakhstan oblast 7095 6045 4001 4596 3611 2962 2693 3856

Karagandy oblast 6368 6153 7659 6542 6710 7444 5257 5489

Kostanai oblast 9121 7248 9943 10309 7086 4320 4019 5380

Kyzylorda oblast 4270 3137 3544 2900 2727 2662 3155 3016

Manghistau oblast 6337 7415 8753 2481 7373 11894 13571 9838

Pavlodar oblast 6618 7004 8490 8623 8457 8489 7377 5115

North Kazakhstan oblast 8185 9672 6864 4759 5116 5790 6404 4689

South Kazakhstan oblast 4620 4266 3447 2722 2002 1574 2304 2194

Astana City 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4041

Almaty City 6601 5644 3929 6182 5185 5188 9369 10327

KAZAKHSTAN 6283 5756 5561 5204 4711 4508 4682 4628

Table 1.8 continued

Region 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004Akmola oblast including Astana City 3372 4541 4590 5480 6477 7584 8100

Akmola oblast 2331 3134 2732 3324 3482 3660 4190

Aktobe oblast 5108 4391 4505 5207 6161 7073 8734

Almaty oblast 2381 2073 2036 2488 2681 2829 3037

Atyrau oblast 9120 10207 15348 17398 21449 26451 30467East Kazakhstan oblast 4755 4437 4050 4416 4507 4698 5341

Zhambyl oblast 1784 1551 1473 1610 1850 2273 2522West Kazakhstan oblast 3712 4103 5190 6338 7206 7835 9274

Karagandy oblast 5178 5347 5447 5766 6038 6699 7550

Kostanai oblast 4621 4349 4247 4461 4631 5167 5814

Kyzylorda oblast 2486 2084 2489 2923 3911 4608 5849

Manghistau oblast 7388 8813 11077 11793 14703 14253 17479

Pavlodar oblast 6500 4831 5530 6429 6552 7526 8864

North Kazakhstan oblast 3268 3234 2597 3539 3488 3612 4220

South Kazakhstan oblast 1916 1942 2211 2619 2632 2735 2780

Astana City 6207 7777 8155 9017 11002 13387 13835

Almaty City 10448 10024 9115 11771 13843 15144 14861

KAZAKHSTAN 4379 4293 4487 5219 5862 6532 7260Source: calculated by the author using data of the RK Statistics Agency and GRP per capita at the regional level..Note: The highest value in each year is highlighted in bold, while the lowest is in bold italics.


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Table 1.9. Trends in national and regional HDIs based on income spent on consumption, per capita, Kazakhstan, 1993-2004


Akmola oblast … … … … … …

Aktobe oblast 0,744 0,732 0,723 0,729 0,721 0,724

Almaty oblast 0,726 0,716 0,700 0,708 0,710 0,709Atyrau oblast 0,724 0,723 0,717 0,723 0,730 0,739


Zhambyl oblast 0,720 0,717 0,711 0,718 0,707 0,716



Kostanai oblast 0,764 0,740 0,731 0,730 0,743 0,735



Pavlodar oblast 0,753 0,738 0,728 0,734 0,736 0,737



Astana City … … … … … 0,779

Almaty City 0,806 0,799 0,792 0,794 0,812 0,813KAZAKHSTAN 0,748 0,738 0,726 0,732 0,735 0,736

Table 1.9 continued


Akmola oblast 0,708 0,737 0,745 0,758 0,758 0,763

Aktobe oblast 0,734 0,746 0,757 0,771 0,780 0,792

Almaty oblast 0,710 0,724 0,737 0,746 0,752 0,764

Atyrau oblast 0,743 0,744 0,757 0,768 0,774 0,785


Zhambyl oblast 0,726 0,715 0,723 0,742 0,744 0,764



Kostanai oblast 0,734 0,738 0,749 0,755 0,756 0,764



Pavlodar oblast 0,744 0,748 0,760 0,763 0,774 0,784North Kazakhstan oblast 0,723 0,745 0,760 0,754 0,759 0,762


Astana City 0,768 0,768 0,794 0,812 0,831 0,842Almaty City 0,813 0,803 0,821 0,829 0,829 0,830

KAZAKHSTAN 0,742 0,743 0,754 0,765 0,772 0,782Source: calculated by the author using data of the RK Statistics Agency and GRP per capita at the regional level.Note: The highest value in each year is highlighted in bold, while the lowest is in bold italics.


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Table 1.10. Trends in national and regional income spent on consumption, per capita, Kazakhstan, 1993-2004

Region 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998Akmola oblast including Astana City 6313 4412 4105 4121 5085 5319

Akmola oblast 0 0 0 0 0 0

Aktobe oblast 4329 4070 4157 4272 3681 3473

Almaty oblast 3586 3074 2544 2723 2646 2458Atyrau oblast 3985 4400 4183 4303 4520 4573

East Kazakhstan oblast 5699 4829 4524 4692 5270 5399

Zhambyl oblast 3640 3496 3658 3725 3046 3211

West Kazakhstan oblast 4785 3950 3682 3513 3560 3647

Karagandy oblast 8257 7591 6925 6856 6821 5985

Kostanai oblast 6139 4237 4429 4187 5176 4548

Kyzylorda oblast 4492 3694 3239 5027 5565 5294

Manghistau oblast 5953 5284 6461 6057 6408 6276

Pavlodar oblast 5868 5379 5278 5085 5016 4653

North Kazakhstan oblast 5142 3975 3741 4661 4201 3397

South Kazakhstan oblast 2927 2394 2320 2699 2714 2547

Astana City 0 0 0 0 0 7557

Almaty City 9528 8830 8226 8163 8723 8203KAZAKHSTAN 5204 4711 4508 4682 4628 4379

Table 1.10 continued

Region 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004Akmola oblast including Astana City 4096 5200 7511 8587 9631 10216

Akmola oblast 2791 4608 5729 6196 7003 7429

Aktobe oblast 3469 4803 5753 7044 8122 8501

Almaty oblast 2473 3360 4029 4608 5483 6693

Atyrau oblast 4753 4472 5148 6215 6363 7152

East Kazakhstan oblast 5084 5117 5910 6562 7038 7955

Zhambyl oblast 3299 2965 3117 3950 4341 5535

West Kazakhstan oblast 3750 4233 4790 5622 6919 7492

Karagandy oblast 5903 5163 5945 6881 7412 8177

Kostanai oblast 4341 4852 5274 5787 6016 6550

Kyzylorda oblast 4642 3309 3530 3960 4900 5129

Manghistau oblast 5198 4389 5632 6648 7422 8573

Pavlodar oblast 4691 5194 6053 5674 6821 7658

North Kazakhstan oblast 3450 5211 6568 6106 6846 7111

South Kazakhstan oblast 2698 3164 3427 3960 4268 4934Astana City 7096 6336 10434 12199 13516 14303Almaty City 7628 6585 8403 9501 10080 10553

KAZAKHSTAN 4293 4487 5219 5862 6532 7260Source: calculated by the author using data of the RK Statistics Agency and regional values of per capita income spent on consumption..Note: The highest value in each year is highlighted in bold, while the lowest is in bold italics.


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Table 1.11. Basic human development indicators and related indices, by region, 2004

RegionLife

expect-ancy

Literacy rate

Enrol-ment rate

Income per

capita at PPP

Life expect-

ancy index

Educa-tion

index GDP index HDI

Akmola oblast 63,9 99,4 77,6 7429 0,645 0,921 0,719 0,763

Aktobe oblast 65,4 99,7 88,7 8501 0,656 0,960 0,742 0,792

Almaty oblast 67,0 99,4 68,1 6693 0,698 0,890 0,702 0,764

Atyrau oblast 65,9 99,7 88,9 7152 0,672 0,961 0,713 0,785

East Kazakhstan oblast 65,4 99,2 80,0 7955 0,672 0,928 0,730 0,777

Zhambyl oblast 67,0 99,7 77,6 5535 0,687 0,923 0,670 0,764

West Kazakhstan oblast 66,5 99,4 85,5 7492 0,666 0,948 0,720 0,787

Karagandy oblast 63,8 99,5 86,5 8177 0,647 0,952 0,735 0,778

Kostanai oblast 65,4 99,4 77,4 6550 0,670 0,921 0,698 0,764

Kyzylorda oblast 67,0 99,6 80,4 5129 0,688 0,932 0,657 0,763

Manghistau oblast 65,3 99,5 94,6 8573 0,667 0,979 0,743 0,798

Pavlodar oblast 65,8 99,4 85,9 7658 0,678 0,949 0,724 0,784

North Kazakhstan oblast 65,0 99,2 73,5 7111 0,663 0,906 0,712 0,762South Kazakhstan oblast 67,9 99,9 82,7 4934 0,701 0,942 0,651 0,769

Astana City 70,8 99,7 81,0 14303 0,758 0,935 0,828 0,842Almaty City 67,8 99,8 100,0 10553 0,720 0,999 0,778 0,830

Kazakhstan 66,2 99,5 84,0 7260 0,681 0,943 0,715 0,782Maximum/minimum 1,111 1,007 1,469 2,899 1,118 1,123 1,273 1,106

Source: calculated by the author using data of the RK Statistics Agency and regional values of per capita income spent on consumption. Note: The highest value in each year is highlighted in bold, while the lowest is in bold italics.

Table 1.12. Contribution of individual human development indicators to HDI

Region

Decreasing HDI Increasing HDI

HDI varia-tion

Contribution to HDI varia-tion, %

HDI varia-tion

Contribution to HDI varia-tion, %

LEB ASS GRP LEB ASS GRPAkmola oblast including

Astana City

-0,061 47 11 42 0,084 21 14 65

Akmola oblast … … … … 0,035 4 27 69

Aktobe oblast -0,065 37 10 53 0,065 7 30 63

Almaty oblast -0,071 27 7 66 0,027 27 11 61

Atyrau oblast -0,039 37 3 60 0,133 8 14 78East Kazakhstan oblast -0,057 49 13 38 0,039 40 32 28Zhambyl oblast -0,099 17 9 74 0,057 25 28 47

West Kazakhstan oblast -0,087 33 5 62 0,100 15 16 69Karagandy oblast -0,051 67 12 21 0,050 27 33 40Kostanai oblast -0,076 34 6 60 0,030 13 17 69Kyzylorda oblast -0,054 40 11 49 0,075 37 5 58

Manghistau oblast -0,069 22 2 76 0,136 -2 22 80Pavlodar oblast -0,037 60 5 31 0,056 18 27 55

North Kazakhstan oblast -0,077 35 7 59 0,025 31 12 56

South Kazakhstan oblast -0,089 27 6 67 0,061 22 26 52

Astana City … … … … 0,116 30 11 59

Almaty City -0,035 53 9 38 0,082 22 7 71KAZAKHSTAN -0,050 52 11 37 0,056 27 25 48

Source: calculated by the author using data of the RK Statistics Agency.Acronyms: LEB – life expectancy at birth;

ASS – ratio of aggregated share of students enrolled at all education levels and proportion of population aged 6-24;

GDP – Gross Domestic Product (for regions this indicator is Gross Regional Product) per capita.

Note: 2-4 highest indicator values by region are highlighted in bold, while 2-4 lowest are in bold italics.


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Table 1.13. Trends in individual human development indicators adjusted by gender, Kazakhstan, 1999-2004

Indicator 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 Varia-tion

Average life expectancy at birth, years 1) 65,5 65,5 65,8 66,0 65,8 66,18 0,7

including: women 1) 71,0 71,1 71,3 71,5 71,5 72,00 1,0

men 1) 60,3 60,2 60,5 60,7 60,5 60,62 0,3

Gender difference, years1) 10,7 10,9 10,8 10,8 11,0 11,4 -0,7

Proportion of employed women out of

hired employees, % 1)

47,6 42.2 49,1 49,0 49,1 49.0 +1,4

Female to male wage ratio, % 1) 67,6 61,5 58,7 61,7 60,8 61,7 -5,9

GDP per capita, USD 2) 4293 4487 5219 5862 6532 7260 2967

including: women 2) 3152 2683 3637 4212 4652 5211 2059

men 2) 5521 6428 6923 7640 8556 9467 3946

Gender difference, USD 2) 2369 3745 3286 3428 3903 4256 1887

Sources: 1) Data provided by the RK Statistics Agency. 2) Calculated by the author.

Table 1.14. Trends in Kazakhstan’s gender-adjusted indices of human development components and HDI, 1999-2004

Indicator 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 Varia-tion

Life expectancy index 0,767

0,5 88

0,768

0,587

0,772

0,592

0,775

0,595

0,775

0,592

0,783

0,594

0,016

0,027

Education index 0,925

0,915

0,925

0,915

0,929

0,919

0,940

0,927

0,945

0,929

0,952

0,935

0,027

0,020

GDP index 0,576

0,669

0,549

0,695

0,600

0,707

0,624

0,624

0,641

0,743

0,660

0,759

0,084

0,090

HDI0,756

0,724

0,748

0,732

0,767

0,739

0,780

0,749

0,787

0,754

0,798

0,763

0,042

0,038

Note: numerator – women, denominator – men.

Table 1.15. Trends in Kazakhstan’s gender (un) adjusted indices of human development components and HDI using UNDP methodology, 1999-2004

Показатель 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 Varia-tion

Life expectancy index 0,675

0,669

0,675

0,669

0,680

0,673

0,683

0,676

0,680

0,674

0,686

0,679

0,011

0,010

Education index 0,921

0,920

0,921

0,920

0,924

0,924

0,934

0,934

0,937

0,937

0,944

0,944

0,023

0,024

GDP index0,627

0,617

0,635

0,611

0,660

0,647

0,679

0,668

0,698

0,686

0,715

0,704

0,088

0,087

HDI0,741

0,736

0,743

0,733

0,755

0,748

0,766

0,760

0,772

0,766

0,782

0,776

0,041

0,040

Note: numerator – gender-aggregated, denominator – gender disaggregated.


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Table 1.16. Age-specifi c (per 1,000 women) and total (per woman) fertility rates for 2003-2030Age, years 2003 2005 2010-2015 2020 2025 2030

15–19 26,92 30,78 35,98 34,21 32,54 31,25

20–24 136,62 156,22 182,58 173,64 165,13 158,62

25–29 119,99 137,20 160,36 152,50 145,03 139,31

30–34 76,15 87,07 101,77 96,78 92,04 88,41

35–39 38,35 43,85 51,25 48,74 46,35 44,53

40–44 8,01 9,16 10,70 10,18 9,68 9,30

45–49 0,52 0,59 0,69 0,66 0,63 0,60

Total fertility rate 2,03 2,32 2,72 2,58 2,46 2,36Source: 1. 2003: Demographic Yearbook of Kazakhstan. 2004. Almaty, 2005. – p.336 – p.105

2. Years 2005-2030 calculated by the author using estimated fi gures.

Table 1.17. Decrease in death rates and life expectancy, 2003-20302004-2005

2006-2010

2011-2015

2016-2020

2021-2025

2026-2030

Annual decrease in death rates, %:

men 3 2 3 4 3 2,5

women 3 1,5 2 3 2 1,5

Life expectancy at birth at end of period, years:

Both genders 67,01 68,25 70,05 72,51 74,27 75,69 men 61,38 62,91 65,22 68,33 70,66 72,59

women 72,25 73,21 74,49 76,41 77,67 78,61

Gender difference in life expectancy, years 10,87 10,31 9,27 8,08 7,01 6,02

Source: Calculated by the author.

Table 1.18. Target projections of population size and general replacement indices, 2005-2031

2005 2010 2015 2020 2025 2030Population at the beginning of year, thousand people 15069,7 16061,3 17311,0 18571,1 19715,7 20856,1

including :

men 7253,1 7728,4 8342,5 8970,7 9547,7 10130,5

women 7816,7 8332,9 8968,5 9600,4 10168,0 10725,5

Men per 1,000 women 928 927 930 934 939 945

migration balance, thousand people 15,070 24,092 34,622 46,428 59,147 72,996

including

men 7,3 11,6 16,7 22,4 28,6 35,5

women 7,8 12,5 17,9 24,0 30,5 37,5

Births, thousand people 291,4 372,6 378,9 338,8 313,8 335,0

including

boys 149,4 191,0 194,2 173,7 160,8 171,7

girls 142,0 181,6 184,7 165,1 152,9 163,3

Deaths, thousand people 154,0 156,8 154,5 147,2 150,6 160,6

including

men 85,3 85,7 82,4 76,7 76,4 79,8

women 68,7 71,1 72,2 70,5 74,2 80,8

Natural population growth, thousand people 137,4 215,8 224,4 191,6 163,1 174,4

including

men 64,1 105,3 111,9 97,0 84,4 92,0

women 73,4 110,5 112,5 94,6 78,7 82,5

Total rates per 1,000 people of average annual population: migration balance 1,0 1,5 2,0 2,5 3,0 3,5

birth 19,2 23,0 21,7 18,1 15,8 16,0

death 10,2 9,7 8,9 7,9 7,6 7,7

natural population growth 9,1 13,3 12,9 10,3 8,2 8,3

total population growth 10,1 14,8 14,9 12,7 11,2 11,8

Source: calculated by the author.


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Table 1.19. Age composition of Kazakhstan population, 2003-2030

Age, years 2003 2005 2010 2015 2020 2025 2030Total 100,0 100,0 100,0 100,0 100,0 100,0 100,0

0–14 25,7 24,5 24,5 27,2 28,9 27,2 24,4

14–34 34,4 35,1 34,6 31,6 28,6 27,7 28,8

35–59 28,8 30,0 30,6 30,1 29,9 30,7 31,2

60–64 3,8 2,7 3,1 3,9 4,4 4,7 4,2

65 + 7,3 7,8 7,2 7,2 8,2 9,7 11,5

Demographic load coeffi cient 582 536 534 620 709 713 668

Source: calculated by the author.

Table 2.1. Poverty indicators in Kazakhstan

Proportion of people with income below

Poverty depth, %

Poverty se-verity, %

Gini coeffi -cient for 20%

population groups *

Ratio of in-comes of the richest and

poorest 10% of popula-

tion, times *

Subsistence minimum, %

Cost of food basket, %

19961) 34,6 … 11,4 5,2 0,319 …

1997 38,32) 12,72) 12,1 3,1 0,338 10,2

1998 39,02) 16,22) 12,8 3,8 0,347 11,3

1999 34,5 14,5 13,7 5,5 0,332 9,4

2000 31,8 11,7 10,3 4,0 0,307 8,3

2001 28,4 11,7 7,8 3,1 0,322 8,8

2002 24,2 8,9 6,1 2,2 0,312 8,1

2003 19,8 6,3 4,6 1,6 0,300 7,4

2004 16,1 4,3 3,3 1,0 0,291 6,8

1) Using fi ndings of special living standards survey.

2) Re-calculated using consumption standards effective as of 1999.

* The earlier published statistics were adjusted according to the new methodology. Trends starting from 1999 are calculated using the common methodology for

households involved in the year-long survey.

Table 2.2. Distribution of older people in quintile groups by income spent on consumption, households surveyed in 2003

Total population

Population by quintile groups

1st group (with lowest

income) 2nd group 3rd group 4th group

5th group (with

higeswt income)

Population, total 100,0 100,0 100,0 100,0 100,0 100,0

Including people aged:

60–64 4,0 2,2 2,7 3,5 4,4 7,0

65 and older 8,6 3,7 5,5 7,8 12,3 13,6

Women, total 100,0 100,0 100,0 100,0 100,0 100,0

Including women aged:

60–64 4,6 2,5 3,0 4,0 5,1 8,1

65 and older 10,7 4,7 7,0 9,5 15,3 16,1

Men, total 100,0 100,0 100,0 100,0 100,0 100,0

Including men aged:

60–64 3,2 2,0 2,3 3,0 3,6 5,4

65 and older 6,1 2,8 3,9 5,8 8,6 10,1

Source: Main Labor Market Indicators. 2004.


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Table 2.3. Average subsistence minimum of people of retirement age by region, per capita, tenge

December 2001

December 2002

December 2003

December 2004

December 2004 as %

of December 2003

Kazakhstan 3851 4086 4370 4683 107,2Akmola oblast 3951 4115 4477 4723 105,5

Aktobe oblast 3835 4230 4469 4992 111,7

Almaty oblast 3773 4019 4171 4543 108,9

Atyrau oblast 4684 5011 5351 5679 106,1

East Kazakhstan oblast 3811 3938 4239 4611 108,8

Zhambyl oblast 3099 3497 3801 4029 106,0

West Kazakhstan oblast 3674 4199 4182 4352 104,1

Karagandy oblast 4016 4160 4422 4548 102,8

Kostanai oblast 3634 3800 4024 4454 110,7

Kyzylorda oblast 3368 3657 4073 4489 110,2

Manghistau oblast 5046 5438 5790 6106 105,5

Pavlodar oblast 3719 4084 4104 4431 108,0

North Kazakhstan oblast 3816 4112 4329 4497 103,9

South Kazakhstan oblast 3125 3386 3736 4086 109,4

Astana city 3909 4130 4414 4782 108,3

Almaty city 4139 4559 4829 5148 106,6

Max 5046 5438 5790 6106 111,7Min 3099 3386 3736 4029 102,8Max / min 1,6 1,6 1,5 1,5 1,1

Source: Demographic Yearbook of Kazakhstan. Almaty, 2005.

Table 2.4. Income inequality by region, 2001-2004

Proportion of poor people Poverty depth. % Poverty severity. %

2001 2002 2003 2004 2001 2002 2003 2004 2001 2002 2003 2004Kazakhstan 28,4 24,2 19,8 16,1 7,7 6,1 4,6 3,3 3,0 2,2 1,6 1,0Akmola oblast 21,0 18,6 16,4 14,0 5,2 3,3 4,0 3,7 2,0 1,0 1,4 1,5

Aktobe oblast 29,8 22,6 19,0 14,3 9,0 6,8 4,5 3,4 4,0 2,8 1,5 1,1

Almaty oblast 39,3 36,3 25,3 15,2 11,5 10,1 5,7 2,7 4,6 3,8 1,8 0,7

Atyrau oblast 40,7 34,1 32,7 29,1 13,7 11,0 9,5 7,3 6,3 4,7 3,9 2,8

East Kazakhstan oblast 21,1 20,0 16,9 14,9 6,1 5,1 4,2 3,3 2,5 1,9 1,4 1,1

Zhambyl oblast 48,2 35,8 30,0 18,3 12,4 8,8 7,1 3,6 4,5 3,1 2,5 1,1

West Kazakhstan oblast 27,3 28,0 17,1 14,4 6,2 6,4 3,5 3,1 2,1 2,2 1,0 1,0

Karagandy oblast 22,8 19,3 15,1 13,5 5,7 4,6 3,4 2,9 2,2 1,6 1,1 0,9

Kostanai oblast 25,5 22,3 21,0 19,0 8,7 7,8 6,8 5,2 3,9 3,6 3,1 1,9

Kyzylorda oblast 39,5 32,3 27,1 26,5 8,4 6,8 5,7 4,5 2,7 2,1 1,6 1,2

Manghistau oblast 45,9 39,8 26,0 21,0 15,5 11,4 4,4 3,4 6,7 4,1 1,0 0,8

Pavlodar oblast 16,6 21,6 17,1 14,5 4,2 5,1 4,3 3,7 1,7 1,8 1,4 1,2

North Kazakhstan oblast 10,0 14,3 11,9 12,0 2,2 3,0 2,4 2,0 0,8 0,9 0,7 0,6

South Kazakhstan oblast 39,2 27,5 26,1 23,0 9,7 5,7 5,0 3,8 3,5 1,8 1,5 1,1

Astana city 2,2 2,2 2,1 1,1 0,5 0,3 0,2 0,4 0,1 0,1 0,1 0,2

Almaty city 4,9 4,1 3,9 2,8 1,0 0,6 0,8 0,4 0,3 0,2 0,2 0,1

Max 48,2 39,8 32,7 29,1 15,5 11,4 9,5 7,3 6,7 4,7 3,9 2,8Min 2,2 2,2 2,1 1,1 0,5 0,3 0,2 0,4 0,1 0,1 0,1 0,1Max / min 21,9 18,1 15,6 26,5 31,0 38,0 47,5 18,3 67,0 47,0 39,0 28,0

Source: Demographic Yearbook of Kazakhstan. Almaty, 2005.


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Table 2.5. Recipients and average size of state benefi ts. At year end

2001 2002 2003 20042004 as % of 2003

Recipients of state benefi ts, thousand people1 643,0 647,1 645,7 651,0 100,8

Of which:

Disability benefi ts 386,4 389,7 389,6 395,1 101,4

Survival benefi ts 238,5 240,6 240,7 240,9 100,1

Age benefi ts 18,2 16,7 15,5 15,0 97,1

Average assigned monthly state benefi t, total, tenge 3581 4059 4365 4580 104,9

Of which:

Disability benefi ts 3153 3774 4153 4357 104,9

Survival benefi ts 4371 4631 4820 5060 105,0

Age benefi ts 2325 2469 2616 2757 105,4

1 Not including military personnel.

Table 3.1. Population by economic activity and age

Total

Economic activity status

Economi-cally active

includingEconomical-ly inactiveemployed

Looking for other or

extra job Unemployed

Total population 11223954 7840554 7181755 540607 658799 3383400Including people

aged, years:

60–64 438112 150565 144294 2471 6271 287547

65–69 506277 81272 81272 – – 425005

70 and older 627177 26302 26302 – – 600875

Men 60–64 175572 89079 84251 2442 4828 86493

65–69 212586 41482 41482 – – 171104

70 and older 197928 11790 11790 – – 186138

Women 60–64 262540 61486 60043 29 1443 201054

65–69 293691 39790 39790 – – 253901

70 and older 429249 14512 14512 – – 414737

Source: Statistical Yearbook of Kazakhstan, Almaty, 2005


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Table 3.2. Population of Kazakhstan by economic activity and age, 2004, %

total including

economically active economically inactiveTotal population

Total population 100 100 100Including people aged. years old:

60–64 3,9 1,9 8,5

65–69 4,5 1,0 12,6

70 and older 5,6 0,3 17,8

Total population 100 69,9 30,1

Including people aged. years old:

60–64 100 34,4 65,6

65–69 100 16,1 83,9

70 and older 100 4,2 95,8

Including menTotal population 100 100 100Including people aged. years old:

60–64 3,3 2,2 6,7

65–69 4,0 1,0 13,2

70 and older 3,7 0,3 14,4



60–64 100 50,7 49,3

65–69 100 19,5 80,5

70 and older 100 6,0 94,0

womenTotal population 100 100 100Including people aged. years old:

60–64 4,4 1,6 9,6

65–69 5,0 1,0 12,1

70 and older 7,2 0,4 19,8



60-64 100 23,4 76,6

65-69 100 13,5 86,5

70 and older 100 3,4 96,6

Source: RK Statistics Agency, 2005.


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Table 3.3. Urban population by economic activity and age (percent)

total Economic activity status

economically active

including economically inactiveemployed unemployed

Total populationTotal population 100 100 100 100 100Including people aged.

years:

60–64 4,0 1,7 1,7 1,2 8,6

65–69 4,8 0,7 0,8 – 12,9

70 and older 6,1 0,2 0,3 – 18,0

Total population 100 66,9 90,6 9,4 33,1

Including people aged.

years:

60–64 100 28,1 93,3 6,7 71,9

65–69 100 10,2 100,0 – 89,8

70 and older 100 2,7 100,0 – 97,3

menTotal population 100 100 100 100 100Including people aged.

years:

60–64 3,3 2,1 2,1 2,2 6,6

65–69 4,3 0,8 0,9 – 13,6

70 and older 4,2 0,2 0,2 – 14,7



years:

60–64 100 45,8 91,9 8,1 54,2

65–69 100 13,7 100,0 – 86,3

70 and older 100 3,9 100,0 – 96,1

womenTotal population 100 100 100 100 100Including people aged.

years:

60–64 4,5 1,3 1,4 0,5 9,8

65–69 5,2 0,6 0,7 – 12,5

70 and older 7,8 0,3 0,3 – 20,0



years:

60–64 100 17,4 95,4 4,6 82,6

65–69 100 7,8 100,0 – 92,2

70 and older 100 2,1 100,0 – 97,9



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Table 3.4. Rural population by economic activity and age (percent)

total Economic activity status

economically active

including economically inactiveemployed unemployed

Total populationTotal population 100 100 100 100 100Including people aged,

years:

60–64 3,8 2,2 2,4 0,5 8,3

65–69 4,2 1,4 1,5 – 11,9

70 and older 4,8 0,5 0,5 – 17,3


Including people aged,

years:

60–64 100 43,6 98,3 1,7 56,4

65–69 100 25,7 100,0 – 74,3

70 and older 100 6,9 100,0 – 93,1

menTotal population 100 100 100 100 100Including people aged,

years:

60–64 3,4 2,4 2,5 1,0 6,9

65–69 3,7 1,3 1,4 – 12,6

70 and older 3,2 0,4 0,4 – 13,9



years:

60–64 100 57,1 97,3 2,7 42,9

65–69 100 28,5 100,0 – 71,5

70 and older 100 9,4 100,0 – 90,6

womenTotal population 100 100 100 100 100Including people aged,

years:

60–64 4,3 2,1 2,2 0,1 9,2

65–69 4,6 1,6 1,7 – 11,4

70 and older 6,4 0,5 0,6 – 19,5



years:

60-64 100 33,2 99,5 0,5 66,8

65-69 100 23,5 100,0 – 76,5

70 and older 100 5,7 100,0 – 94,3



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Table 3.5. Main labor market indicators in Kazakhstan

1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004Economically active population, thousand people 7052,6 7055,4 7107,4 7479,1 7399,7 7657,3 7840,6

Economic activity rate, % 65,9 66,0 66,0 70,2 70,1 70,0 69,9

Employed population, thousand people 6127,6 6105,4 6201,0 6698,8 6708,9 6985,2 7181,8

Employment rate, % 86,9 86,5 87,2 89,6 90,7 91,2 91,6

Economically inactive population, thousand

people3649,9 3639,5 3655,2 3175,8 3155,3 3278,6 3383,4

Economic inactivity rate, % 34,1 34,0 34,0 29,8 29,9 30,0 30,1

Economically inactive population because of

retirement, thousand people1584,2 1565,6 1461,9 1425,1

Proportion of retired people in economically

inactive population, %49,9 49,6 44,6 42,1

Source: Republic of Kazakhstan: 2005 (brief statistical reference). Almaty, 2005

Table 3.6 . Employed population, 2001-2004

2001 2002 2003 2004Both gen-ders

including Both gen-ders



including

men wom-en men wom-

en men wom-en men wom-

enTotal population, including people aged:

6698,8 3470,2 3228,6 6708,9 3486,4 3222,5 6985,2 3618,3 3366,9 7181,8 3718,5 3463,3

15 29,2 15,7 13,6 19,6 9,3 10,3 22,2 11,0 11,2 15,5 9,4 6,1

16–19 292,8 161,9 130,9 264,9 150,6 114,4 327,4 182,9 144,5 321,2 182,9 138,3

20–24 694,1 372,4 321,7 636,3 350,7 285,6 760,2 424,1 336,2 814,3 448,0 366,3

25–29 806,2 429,4 376,8 795,9 424,4 371,5 947,4 504,5 442,9 1012,4 538,1 474,3

30–34 819,0 422,5 396,4 810,4 423,9 386,5 978,6 502,8 475,8 1078,8 557,2 521,6

35–39 954,7 487,1 467,6 921,4 465,6 455,8 850,2 430,0 420,2 873,9 446,9 427,0

40–44 975,2 498,2 477,1 1025,0 522,0 503,0 981,9 495,0 486,9 1003,5 490,2 513,3

45–49 821,7 396,4 425,3 833,0 409,2 423,8 829,0 411,7 417,3 830,5 412,9 417,6

50–54 636,9 321,2 315,7 678,7 335,6 343,1 670,1 326,8 343,3 650,9 323,8 327,1

55–59 254,7 142,4 112,2 293,9 161,2 132,7 288,9 151,1 137,8 329,0 171,7 157,3

60–64 271,0 155,4 115,6 263,7 150,6 113,1 195,9 112,8 83,1 144,3 84,3 60,0

65–69 92,2 46,5 45,7 109,5 61,1 48,4 96,5 48,0 48,5 81,3 41,5 39,8

70 and older 51,2 21,2 30,0 56,5 22,2 34,3 36,8 17,5 19,3 26,3 11,8 14,5

Max 975,2 498,2 477,1 1025,0 522,0 503,0 981,9 504,5 486,9 1078,8 557,2 521,6Min 29,2 15,7 13,6 19,6 9,3 10,3 22,2 11,0 11,2 15,5 9,4 6,1Max / min 33,4 31,7 35,1 52,3 56,1 48,8 44,2 45,9 43,5 69,6 59,3 85,5


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Table 4. 1 National and regional numbers of TB patients on the follow-up register at the end of the reporting year in 2004 and as of 31.07.2005 (data from the National Register of People Infected with Tuberculosis)

Region

Tuberculosis cases including active tuberculosis cases 2004 As of 31.07.2005 2004 As of 31.07.2005

total

including patients aged

60+total


60+total


60+total


60+abso-lute

fi gure%

abso-lute

fi gure%

abso-lute

fi gure%

abso-lute

fi gure%

Kazakhstan 284619 14932 5,2 311650 15295 4,9 67757 5221 7,7 71915 5487 7,6Akmola oblast 19296 1074 5,6 19599 1049 5,4 4003 286 7,1 4110 290 7,1

Aktobe oblast 16491 721 4,4 18371 768 4,2 4641 209 4,5 5013 234 4,7

Almaty oblast 23494 1191 5,1 25945 1216 4,7 5256 452 8,6 5695 480 8,4

Atyrau oblast 16646 558 3,4 18947 602 3,2 3052 122 4,0 3199 134 4,2

East Kazakhstan oblast 27292 1431 5,2 28884 1487 5,1 6281 497 7,9 6857 532 7,8

Zhambyl oblast 17300 737 4,3 24874 835 3,4 4347 297 6,8 4464 307 6,9

West Kazakhstan oblast 13431 861 6,4 12735 708 5,6 3768 289 7,7 3779 276 7,3

Karagandy oblast 20413 1191 5,8 20954 1221 5,8 6710 480 7,2 6850 515 7,5

Kyzylorda oblast 19382 1656 8,5 19501 1574 8,1 4386 606 13,8 4462 634 14,2

Kostanai oblast 13262 796 6,0 14940 780 5,2 4266 286 6,7 4427 287 6,5

Мanghistau oblast 9874 246 2,5 9585 235 2,5 2162 132 6,1 2462 153 6,2

Pavlodar oblast 23167 970 4,2 24970 952 3,8 5041 437 8,7 5280 414 7,8

North Kazakhstan

oblast14414 747 5,2 16827 808 4,8 3303 283 8,6 3580 312 8,7

South Kazakhstan

oblast30984 1813 5,9 31631 1995 6,3 6273 556 8,9 6541 601 9,2

Astana City 6137 200 3,3 7017 199 2,8 1852 131 7,1 2192 128 5,8

Almaty City 13036 740 5,7 16870 866 5,1 2416 158 6,5 3004 190 6,3

Table 4.2. National and regional numbers of diabetes patients on the follow-up register at the end of the report-ing year, 2002-2004 (data from the database of diabetes patients)

Region

Diabetes cases2002 2003 2004

total

including pa-tients aged 60+

total


total


abso-lute

fi gure%

abso-lute

fi gure%

abso-lute

fi gure%

Kazakhstan 98728 62912 63,7 110878 68816 62,1 117771 71131 60,4Akmola oblast 5538 3593 64,9 5849 3752 64,1 6262 3901 62,3

Aktobe oblast 3247 2024 62,3 3491 2057 58,9 3947 2204 55,8

Almaty oblast 5904 3562 60,3 9178 5380 58,6 7770 4208 54,2

Atyrau oblast 1786 922 51,6 1955 913 46,7 2066 938 45,4

East Kazakhstan oblast 12992 8783 67,6 14333 9493 66,2 15088 9820 65,1

Zhambyl oblast 5922 3365 56,8 6636 3731 56,2 6860 3691 53,8

West Kazakhstan oblast 2391 1482 62,0 2565 1602 62,5 2564 1528 59,6

Karagandy oblast 11659 7821 67,1 12053 7800 64,7 13230 8352 63,1

Kyzylorda oblast 1913 918 48,0 2199 1067 48,5 2538 1247 49,1

Kostanai oblast 8083 5667 70,1 8604 5947 69,1 9343 6267 67,1

Мanghistau oblast 1079 562 52,1 1409 648 46,0 1670 738 44,2

Pavlodar oblast 6351 4211 66,3 7008 4578 65,3 7356 4789 65,1

North Kazakhstan oblast 5812 3771 64,9 6117 3851 63,0 6499 3991 61,4

South Kazakhstan oblast 11557 6323 54,7 13439 7363 54,8 14886 7973 53,6

Astana City 3036 1975 65,1 3321 2125 64,0 3626 2344 64,6

Almaty City 11458 7933 69,2 12721 8509 66,9 14066 9140 65,0


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Table 4.3. Cases registered for the fi rst time, Kazakhstan, 1998, 2000, 2002, and 2004 (data from National Sta-tistics)

Disease

1998 2000 2002 2004

Notetotal

including patients aged 60+

total


total


total


abso-lute fi g-ure

%

abso-lute fi g-ure

%

abso-lute fi g-ure

%

abso-lute fi g-ure

%

Active tuberculosis 18505 1193 6,4 22182 870 3,9 24478 933 3,8 23163 825 3,6 (65 years +)

Malignant tumors 28839 17215 59,7 28511 17406 61,1 29314 17885 61,0 29157 16860 57,8

Syphilis 36044 2412 6,7 23996 2434 10,1 18300 2184 11,9 11907 1611 13,5 (45 years +)

Mental and behavioral

disorders 25203 1334 5,3 26921 1064 4,0 26882 1949 7,3 26294 1876 7,1


disorders caused by

substance abuse

42322 119 0,3 43851 138 0,3 62343 263 0,4 60667 380 0,6


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Table 4.4 Deaths in Kazakhstan in 1995, 2000 - 2004 (data provided by the Statistics Agency of Kazakhstan)

Disease groups

1995 2000 2001

total

includ-ing pa-tients aged 60+

% total


% total


%

TOTAL 168884 77701 46,0 148855 80691 54,2 147547 75558 51,2Infectious and parasitic

diseases 6784 735 10,8 5057 832 16,5 4532 691 15,2

Neoplasms 22207 3344 15,1 19333 4023 20,8 19173 3885 20,3

Blood and blood-making

system diseases 164 35 21,3 133 31 23,3 152 52 34,2

Endocrine diseases,

nutrition and metabolic

disorders

1946 1165 59,9 1449 990 68,3 1485 1008 67,9


disorders 803 138 17,2 480 90 18,8 510 109 21,4

Nervous system diseases 1565 199 12,7 1361 271 19,9 1461 296 20,3

Ear and mastoid diseases 10 1 10,0 8 4 50,0 9 1 11,1

Circulatory system

diseases 80421 54690 68,0 74422 58150 78,1 73549 53604 72,9

Respiratory system

diseases 15644 7986 51,0 10566 6413 60,7 9716 5677 58,4

Digestive system diseases 5692 2676 47,0 5631 2784 49,4 6025 2888 47,9

Skin and subcutaneous

cellular tissue diseases 155 49 31,6 113 28 24,8 113 28 24,8

Bone and muscle system

and connective tissue

diseases

203 61 30,0 114 40 35,1 164 51 31,1

Urogenital apparatus

diseases 2232 845 37,9 1969 870 44,2 1934 876 45,3

Pregnancy, natal and post-

natal complications 159 94 87

Various perinatal

conditions 2119 1379 1416

Congenital abnormalities

(developmental

disorders), deformities

and chromosome

disorders

1414 11 0,8 1050 8 0,8 1112 3 0,3

Symptoms, signs and

abnormalities 4096 2781 67,9 4775 3122 65,4 4495 3057 68,0

Injuries and poisoning

and other after-effects

of exposure to external

conditions

23270 2985 12,8 20921 3035 14,5 21614 3332 15,4


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Table 4.4 continued

Disease groups

2002 2003 2004

total


% total


% total


%

TOTAL 148700 50719 34,1 155302 83432 53,7 152250 87376 57,4Infectious and parasitic

diseases 4583 669 14,6 4288 571 13,3 3979 457 11,5

Neoplasms 18989 3641 19,2 18898 2729 14,4 18501 11675 63,1

Blood and blood-making

system diseases 123 34 27,6 144 34 23,6 157 46 29,3

Endocrine diseases,

nutrition and metabolic

disorders

1618 1093 67,6 1516 999 65,9 1339 851 63,6


disorders 569 113 19,9 530 112 21,1 520 91 17,5

Nervous system diseases 1285 233 18,1 1535 353 23,0 1462 369 25,2

Ear and mastoid diseases 7 2 28,6 1 9 3 33,3

Circulatory system

diseases 75447 29189 38,7 80392 62482 77,7 77860 59368 76,2

Respiratory system

diseases 9785 5717 58,4 10304 6125 59,4 8752 5003 57,2

Digestive system diseases 6275 2937 46,8 6907 3065 44,4 7199 2942 40,9

Skin and subcutaneous

cellular tissue diseases 122 33 27,0 82 37 45,1 99 37 37,4

Bone and muscle system

and connective tissue

diseases

148 36 24,3 164 50 30,5 184 48 26,1

Urogenital apparatus

diseases 1874 838 44,7 1870 796 42,6 1758 774 44,0

Pregnancy, natal and post-

natal complications 80 101 63 0,0

Various perinatal

conditions 1372 1461 1893 0,0

Congenital abnormalities

(developmental

disorders), deformities

and chromosome

disorders

1043 2 0,2 1125 28 2,5 1146 43 3,8

Symptoms, signs and

abnormalities 4687 3003 64,1 4898 2892 59,0 5201 2958 56,9

Injuries and poisoning

and other after-effects

of exposure to external

conditions

20693 3179 15,4 21086 3159 15,0 22128 2711 12,3


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Table 4.5. Male ‘over-mortality’ rate in KazakhstanНаселение, лет Total population Urban population Rural populationTotal population 1,38 1,48 1,24

under 1 1,33 1,40 1,21

1–4 1,17 1,11 1,22

5–9 1,46 1,54 1,14

10–14 1,48 1,47 1,43

15–19 2,11 1,95 2,41

20–24 2,72 3,05 2,32

25–29 3,11 3,36 2,77

30–34 3,34 3,74 2,79

35–39 3,10 3,38 2,70

40–44 3,07 3,33 2,75

45–49 2,94 3,18 2,56

50–54 2,77 3,11 2,22

55–59 2,61 2,87 2,20

60–64 2,39 2,63 2,06

65–69 2,17 2,37 1,88

70–74 1,86 1,49 1,75

75–79 1,54 1,56 1,51

80–84 1,32 1,34 1,28

85+ 1,12 1,08 1,20Source: Demographic Yearbook of Kazakhstan. Almaty, 2005.

Table 4.6. Population and older people diagnosed as disabled for the fi rst time in Kazakhstan in 2004

Total population,

people

People diag-

nosed as disabled for the

fi rst time (PDA), people

including all people of pension age diagnosed as disabled for the

fi rst time

Urban areas Rural areas

Total, people

% of all people diag-

nosed as disabled for the

fi rst time

populationpeople of pension age diagnosed as disabled

for the fi rst timepopulation

people of pension age diagnosed as disabled

for the fi rst time

Total, people

% of total popula-

tion

Total,

people

% of all people of pension

age diag-nosed as disabled for the

fi rst time

Total, people

% of total popula-

tion

Total,

people

% of all people of pension

age diag-nosed as disabled for the

fi rst time

Akmola oblast 747633 2390 219 9,2 352581 47,2 149 68,0 395052 52,8 70 32,0

Aktobe oblast 678391 1549 161 10,4 374577 55,2 125 77,6 303814 44,8 36 22,4

Almaty oblast 1589501 3842 156 4,1 474034 29,8 69 44,2 1115467 70,2 87 65,8

Atyrau oblast 463680 1033 30 2,9 265716 57,3 21 70,0 197964 42,7 9 30,0

West Kazakhstan

oblast606688 1824 196 10,8 262587 43,3 116 59,2 344101 56,7 80 40,8

Zhambyl oblast 991950 2654 118 4,5 447179 45,1 25 21,2 544771 54,9 93 78,8

Karagandy oblast 1331646 4710 468 9,9 1116390 83,8 426 91,0 215256 16,2 42 9,0

Kostanai oblast 907296 2198 249 11,3 498586 54,9 191 76,7 408710 45,1 58 23,3

Kyzylorda oblast 612028 1784 134 7,5 364122 59,5 64 47,8 247906 40,5 70 52,2

Manghistau oblast 361733 1012 105 10,4 274615 75,9 77 73,3 87118 24,1 28 26,7

South Kazakhstan

oblast2193522 7165 372 5,2 840427 38,3 196 52,7 1353095 61,7 176 47,3

Pavlodar oblast 743909 2106 314 14,9 487778 65,6 241 76,8 256131 34,4 73 23,2

North Kazakhstan

oblast665777 2176 257 11,8 243667 36,6 169 65,8 422110 63,4 88 34,2

East Kazakhstan

oblast1442018 4594 684 14,9 854243 59,2 503 73,5 587775 40,8 181 26,5

Astana City 529356 1042 121 11,6 529356 100 121 100 0 0 0 0

Almaty City 1209103 2746 487 17,7 1209103 100 487 100 0 0 0 0

KAZAKHSTAN 15074231 42825 4071 9,5 8594961 57,0 2980 73,2 6479270 43,0 1091 26,8



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Table 5.1. Evening general education schools (at start of academic year)

2001/02 2002/03 2003/04 2004/05

schools

students enrolled,

thou-sand

students

schools

students enrolled,

thou-sand

students

schools

students enrolled,

thou-sand

students

schools

students enrolled,

thou-sand

students KAZAKHSTAN 48 24,6 47 24,5 66 27,0 75 26,2

Akmola oblast 3 0,7 2 0,8 3 0,8 8 1,5

Aktobe oblast 1 0,7 1 0,6 2 0,8 2 0,8

Almaty oblast – 0,1 – 0,1 3 0,5 3 0,6

Atyrau oblast 3 1,0 3 0,8 3 0,7 2 0,7

East Kazakhstan oblast 3 1,2 2 1,0 8 2,6 8 2,5

Zhambyl oblast 7 3,0 7 3,1 7 3,2 10 3,1

West Kazakhstan oblast 3 2,3 4 2,3 4 2,1 4 1,7

Karagandy oblast 4 2,3 4 2,7 11 2,9 11 3,1

Kostanai oblast 3 2,5 3 2,4 3 0,8 3 1,5

Kyzylorda oblast 7 0,9 8 0,7 8 2,2 8 0,8

Manghistau oblast 4 1,2 4 1,3 5 1,5 5 1,4

Pavlodar oblast – 1,3 – 1,6 – 1,6 2 1,1

North Kazakhstan oblast 4 2,1 3 1,7 3 1,4 3 1,2

South Kazakhstan oblast 5 2,6 5 2,7 5 3,0 5 3,3

Astana City 1 0,1 1 0,2 1 0,4 1 0,3

Almaty City – 2,6 – 2,5 – 2,5 – 2,6Source: RK Statistics Agency

Table 5.2. Vocational schools

2001/02 2002/03 2003/04 2004/05KAZAKHSTAN 284 287 288 296

Akmola oblast 20 19 18 18

Aktobe oblast 16 16 16 16

Almaty oblast 24 25 25 24

Atyrau oblast 13 13 13 13

East Kazakhstan oblast 34 35 35 38

Zhambyl oblast 10 12 11 14

West Kazakhstan oblast 20 20 20 20

Karagandy oblast 32 32 33 30

Kostanai oblast 10 7 9 7

Kyzylorda oblast 13 13 13 13

Manghistau oblast 5 4 4 5

Pavlodar oblast 24 26 26 28

North Kazakhstan oblast 23 24 24 24

South Kazakhstan oblast 23 24 24 28

Astana City 5 5 5 5

Almaty City 12 12 12 13Source: RK Statistics Agency


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Table 5.3. Colleges

Регион 2001/02 2002/03 2003/04 2004/05KAZAKHSTAN 318 335 357 385















Astana City 15 17 18 18


Table 5.4. Higher education institutions

2001/02 2002/03 2003/04 2004/05KAZAKHSTAN 185 177 180 181















Astana City 7 7 10 10



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Table 5.5. College students aged 40+, at start of academic year

2003/2004 2004/2005KAZAKHSTAN 2820 3170

Akmola oblast 61 93

Aktobe oblast 352 338

Almaty oblast 63 66

Atyrau oblast 7 31

East Kazakhstan oblast 287 323

Zhambyl oblast 114 130

West Kazakhstan oblast 75 57

Karagandy oblast 309 398

Kostanai oblast 155 175

Kyzylorda oblast 70 77

Manghistau oblast 122 140

Pavlodar oblast 375 497

North Kazakhstan oblast 302 264

South Kazakhstan oblast 228 198

Astana City 207 236

Almaty City 93 147Source: RK Statistics Agency

Table 5.6. Students enrolled in higher education at start of academic year

aged 40+2003/2004 2004/2005

Kazakhstan 13461 17246

Akmola oblast 498 712

Aktobe oblast 978 890

Almaty oblast 99 508

Atyrau oblast 437 649

East Kazakhstan oblast 929 1031

Zhambyl oblast 616 839

West Kazakhstan oblast 635 886

Karagandy oblast 1883 2326

Kostanai oblast 948 1960

Kyzylorda oblast 363 587

Manghistau oblast 261 337

Pavlodar oblast 736 1331

North Kazakhstan oblast 364 450

South Kazakhstan oblast 1059 1217

Astana City 308 267

Almaty City 3347 3256Source: RK Statistics Agency


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ANNEX 3UNITED NATIONS PRINCIPLES FOR OLDER PERSONS 108

The General Assembly:

Appreciating the contribution that older persons make to

their societies,

Recognizing that, in the Charter of the United Nations,

the peoples of the United Nations declare, inter alia, their

determination to reaffi rm faith in fundamental human

rights, in the dignity and worth of the human person,

in the equal rights of men and women and of nations

large and small and to promote social progress and better

standards of life in larger freedom,

Noting the elaboration of those rights in the Universal

Declaration of Human Rights, the International Cove-

nant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and the

International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and

other declarations to ensure the application of universal

standards to particular groups,

In pursuance of the International Plan of Action on Ageing, adopted by the World Assembly on Ageing and

endorsed by the General Assembly in its resolution 37/51

of 3 December 1982,

Appreciating the tremendous diversity in the situation

of older persons, not only between countries but within

countries and between individuals, which requires a va-

riety of policy responses,

Aware that in all countries, individuals are reaching an

advanced age in greater numbers and in better health

than ever before,

Aware of the scientifi c research disproving many stere-

otypes about inevitable and irreversible declines with

age,

Convinced that in a world characterized by an increasing

number and proportion of older persons, opportunities

must be provided for willing and capable older persons

to participate in and contribute to the ongoing activities

of society,

Mindful that the strains on family life in both developed

and developing countries require support for those pro-

viding care to frail older persons,

Bearing in mind the standards already set by the Inter-

national Plan of Action on Ageing and the conventions,

recommendations and resolutions of the International

Labor Organization, the World Health Organization and

other United Nations entities,

Encourages Governments to incorporate the following

principles into their national programmes whenever pos-

sible

108 Adopted by GA Resolution 46/91 of 16 December 1991. Based on the

International Plan of Action on Ageing; refer to GA Report on Ageing,

Vienna, 26 July – 6 August 1982 (published by the United Nations, sold as

R.82.I.16), chapter VI, section А. http://www.un.org/russian/topics/socdev/

elderly/oldprinc.htm

Independence

1. Older persons should have access to adequate

food, water, shelter, clothing and health care

through the provision of income, family and

community support and self-help.

2. Older persons should have the opportunity to

work or to have access to other income-generat-

ing opportunities.

3. Older persons should be able to participate in

determining when and at what pace withdrawal

from the labor force takes place.

4. Older persons should have access to appropriate

educational and training programmes.

5. Older persons should be able to live in environ-

ments that are safe and adaptable to personal

preferences and changing capacities.

6. Older persons should be able to reside at home

for as long as possible.

Participation

7. Older persons should remain integrated in socie-

ty, participate actively in the formulation and im-

plementation of policies that directly affect their

well-being and share their knowledge and skills

with younger generations.

8. Older persons should be able to seek and develop

opportunities for service to the community and

to serve as volunteers in positions appropriate to

their interests and capabilities.

9. Older persons should be able to form movements

or associations of older persons.

Care

10. Older persons should benefi t from family and

community care and protection in accordance

with each society’s system of cultural values.

11. Older persons should have access to health care

to help them to maintain or regain the optimum

level of physical, mental and emotional well- be-

ing and to prevent or delay the onset of illness.

12. Older persons should have access to social and

legal services to enhance their autonomy, protec-

tion and care.

13. Older persons should be able to utilize appropri-

ate levels of institutional care providing protec-

tion, rehabilitation and social and mental stimula-

tion in a humane and secure environment.

14. Older persons should be able to enjoy human

rights and fundamental freedoms when residing

in any shelter, care or treatment facility, including

full respect for their dignity, beliefs, needs and

privacy and for the right to make decisions about

their care and the quality of their lives.

Self-fulfi llment

15. Older persons should be able to pursue opportu-

nities for the full development of their potential.


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16. Older persons should have access to the educa-

tional, cultural, spiritual and recreational resourc-

es of society.

Dignity

17. Older persons should be able to live in dignity

and security and be free of exploitation and phys-

ical or mental abuse.

18. Older persons should be treated fairly regardless

of age, gender, racial or ethnic background, dis-

ability or other status, and be valued independ-

ently of their economic contribution.


121

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GR

AP

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123

Authors:1. Aikan Aikanov – Vice-Minister of Health Care of the Republic of Kazakhstan

2. Yuriy Shokamanov – First deputy to chairperson, RK Statistics Agency

3. Shamil Dauranov – Director, Department of Economic Policy and Indicative Planning of the RK Ministry of

Economy and Budget Planning

4. Makpal Djadrina – Vice-President, Kazakh Academy of Education after Altynsarin

5. Anastassiya Kurassova – Deputy to director, Department of Employment and Social Programmes, Almaty City

Akimat

6. Akzholtai Yelemessova – Head, Statistics and Assessment Department, Ryskulov Kazakh Economic University

7. Gaziza Moldakulova – MICS project coordinator, UNFPA/UNICEF

8. Yuriy Buluktaev – senior research assistant, Institute of Phylosophy and Political Sciences

9. Rustam Burnashev – lecturer, Kazakh-German University

10. Shynar Imangaliyeva – Human Development Programme coordinator, UNDP

11. Tatyana Popova – head of medical and social assessment laboratory, RK High School of Public Health

12. Gulnara Tokmurzieva – Deputy to Director, Center of Preventive Medicine of National Center for Healthy Lyfe-

style Promotion

Consultative Board:1. Yuriko Shoji – UN Resident Coordinator in the Republic of Kazakhstan

2. Gordon Johnson – UNDP Deputy Resident Representative in Kazakhstan

3. Loup Brefort – World Bank Country Manager in Kazakstan

4. Zheken Kaliuly – chairperson, UN Assistance Association in Kazakhstan

5. Gulshara Abdykalieva – Vice-Minister of Labor and Social Protection of the Republic of Kazakhstan

6. Zhaksybek Kulekeev – Rector, Public Administration Academy under the RK President

7. Anar Meshimbaeva – Head, Center of System Research of the RK Presidential Administration

8. Zhanar Sagimbayeva – Head, Good Governance and Sustainable Development Unit, UNDP

9. Aida Alzhanova – UNFPA Assistant Representative

10. Malin Herwig- Poverty Reduction Team Chief, UNDP

11. Bayan Akhmetzhanova – President, NGO Ardager

UNDP Task Force: 13. Shynar Imangaliyeva – Human Development Programme coordinator, UNDP

14. Togzhan Assan – Programme Assistant, UNDP

Technical Support:Layout – Pavel Lyachin

Taimas Publishing House

Maps and fi gures – Lada Nikolayenko

Russian text edited – Valentina Semykina

Translated and edited in English - Seamus Bennett

Translated and edited in Kazakh – Kaisar Zhorabekov

N.Bube’s Kazakh Yurt painting was reproduced in the Report

THE 2005 NATIONAL HUMAN DEVELOPMENT REPORT


124

FOR NOTES

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THE GREAT GENERATION OF KAZAKHSTAN: INSIGHT INTO …hdr.undp.org/sites/default/files/kazakhstan_2005_en.pdfPopulation ageing is a relatively new phenomenon for Kazakhstan. According